Lionel Messi has secured Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot for the 2025 season, finishing with 29 goals to beat Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge and LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, who each netted 24.

It’s the Argentine’s first MLS Golden Boot, after narrowly missing out last year to D.C. United’s Christian Benteke by three goals.

Historic feat for Inter Miami

Messi becomes the first Inter Miami player ever to win the Golden Boot and only the second Argentine to claim the honour, following Valentín “Taty” Castellanos, who scored 19 goals for New York City FC in 2021.

His 29-goal tally ranks among the most prolific in MLS history, only Josef Martínez (31 in 2018) and Carlos Vela (34 in 2019) have scored more in a single season since 2005.

His 1.03 goals per game trails just behind Vela’s 1.10 from 2019, while his 28 non-penalty goals set a new single-season record, surpassing the previous benchmark by three.

Breaking multiple records

Messi scored his first hat-trick of the season on Decision Day and set a new milestone as the first player in MLS history to record 10 multi-goal games.

The previous record of eight was shared by Stern John (Columbus Crew, 1998), Mamadou Diallo (Tampa Bay Mutiny, 2000), and Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy, 2019).

The 29 league goals rank 10th in Messi’s storied career, topped by his 50-goal haul with Barcelona in the 2011/12 campaign. His 48 goal contributions (29 goals and 19 assists) this season rank second in MLS history, behind Carlos Vela’s 2019 total of 49.

Messi also becomes only the second player to lead the league in both goals and assists, following Sebastian Giovinco’s 2015 performance (22 goals, 15 assists).

Focus shifts to playoffs

Inter Miami now turn their attention to the playoffs, where they’ll face Nashville SC in a best-of-three series starting Friday.