Messi closes out MLS regular season as league's top scorer for second straight year

Lionel Messi finished the match without scoring, and it didn't matter one bit. Inter Miami's 3-3 draw against Charlotte FC, after building a three-goal lead at halftime only to watch it slip away in the second half, changed nothing about what had already been settled: the Argentine closed out the 2026 MLS regular season as the league's leading scorer with 26 goals, becoming the first player in league history to win the Golden Boot in back-to-back years.

It's no small feat. Messi is only the sixth player to finish as MLS's top scorer in more than one season, but no one had ever done it in consecutive years. His 26 goals came in 31 appearances (29 starts), and when you add the 17 assists he also handed out, that's 43 goal contributions, another number that leads the league outright.

The feat stands out even more considering that Messi, 39, retired from the Argentina national team just last month. Far from slowing down at club level, he remains the difference maker for Inter Miami.

In the race for the individual award, the Argentine finished four goals clear of his closest rival, Croatian forward Petar Musa of FC Dallas. Third place went to Sam Surridge of Nashville SC, who scored twice on the final matchday to reach 21 goals.

The comparison with last year makes clear that Messi doesn't give up his crown easily. In 2025 he won the Golden Boot with 29 goals in just 28 matches, finishing ahead of Denis Bouanga and Surridge himself, who both ended on 24. That season he also led the league in assists with 19, numbers that earned him the league MVP award. Now, after another standout campaign, he remains the leading candidate to win it again: he also took home the honor in 2024, his first full season with Miami, and if he wins it in 2026, he'll become the first player to claim it three times.

Inter Miami head coach Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez had no doubts when discussing his captain:

I have no doubt he's the best of them all. Nobody compares to him when it comes to the respect he shows his teammates. What Leo is doing at his age, in my view, deserves the MVP and the Ballon d'Or too. I hope he can get there.Cristian "Kily" Gonzalez

The match against Charlotte had a bit of everything. Ian Fray opened the scoring in the 14th minute off a corner kick taken by Messi. Luis Suarez doubled the lead in the 33rd minute, tapping in from close range after a header by German Berterame that also came from a Messi corner. Rodrigo De Paul made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute with a shot from outside the box. It looked like the game was decided, but Charlotte fought back hard: Liel Abada pulled two goals back, in the 50th and 55th minutes, and Rodolfo Aloko struck the equalizer in the 90th minute off a rebound after Tyger Smalls had rattled the post.

Despite the stumble on the final matchday, Inter Miami closed out the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference with 60 points, after New England, which had been sitting third, lost 1-0 on the road at Orlando. Nashville, meanwhile, beat Cincinnati 2-0 to finish with 77 points, surpassing the Miami franchise's own record of 74 points set in 2024.

With a playoff spot locked up and qualification to the Concacaf Champions Cup secured for the fourth consecutive time, Inter Miami is already looking ahead: the club will host the best-of-three first-round series against seventh-seeded Columbus Crew.