Football · Miami

Messi wins second straight MLS Golden Boot with 26 goals as Nashville sets points record

Lionel Messi finished the MLS regular season with 26 goals, four clear of Petar Musa, to become the first player to win the Golden Boot in consecutive seasons. Inter Miami drew 3-3 with Charlotte on the final day, while Nashville set a league points record of 77.

AI text based on reports by der Standard, Stirile ProTV, Mediafax.ro and other publishers. Published today at 08:47. How it is made

For membersThe first 30 seconds for everyone. Synthetic voice (AI).

In brief

Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons, cropped)

How it came to this

Shortly after the restartLiel Abada pulls one back for Charlotte
55th minuteAbada strikes again to level the scoring for Charlotte
90th minuteRodolfo Aloko equalises for Charlotte

A second straight Golden Boot

Lionel Messi won the MLS Golden Boot for the second year running, becoming the first player in league history to win it in consecutive seasons. The 39-year-old Inter Miami forward scored 26 goals in 31 appearances, four more than FC Dallas striker Petar Musa, who finished on 22. Nashville's Sam Surridge ended on 21 and Brian White of the Vancouver Whitecaps on 20. Messi also added 17 assists, which gave him 43 goal contributions, the best total in the league for the second year in a row. He had scored 29 goals last season, and in the final round Musa failed to score in Dallas's 3-1 home win over Colorado, which kept Messi's lead at four goals. Messi played 2,664 minutes and took 183 shots, the most in MLS, 76 of them on target.

MLS Golden Boot tally, 2026 regular seasongoals

Data from the article text

The final day in Miami

Miami led Charlotte 3-0 at half-time on Saturday, 7 November, at Nu Stadium, yet the match finished 3-3. Ian Fray, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo de Paul gave Miami their first-half lead, and Messi set up the first two of those goals from corners without scoring himself. Liel Abada struck twice shortly after the restart to start Charlotte's comeback. Rodolfo Aloko equalised in the 90th minute after a shot rebounded off the post. Messi hit the woodwork in stoppage time, visibly frustrated at the result. Miami still secured second place in the East and home advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Nashville sets a league points record

Nashville SC beat FC Cincinnati 2-0 to finish on 77 points, passing the 74-point mark that Inter Miami set in 2024. Sam Surridge scored twice in that win, a Decision Day double that gave him 21 goals for the season. Nashville topped the Eastern Conference with 23 wins, three defeats and eight draws. Miami took second place on 60 points. New England, third on 58, lost 1-0 at Orlando and missed its chance to overtake Miami. Messi's 26 goals accounted for nearly a third of the league-high 80 goals Miami scored over the regular season.

Eastern Conference points, final regular-season standingspoints

Data from the article text

Playoffs and what comes next

Miami meet Columbus Crew in a best-of-three first round, with the series starting on 19 November. Columbus took seventh place after a 4-3 win at Chicago, which spared them the wild-card round. In the East, New England face Philadelphia, Charlotte play Chicago and Nashville meet the winner of the Orlando and Cincinnati match. Miami, the defending champions, are attempting to become the first repeat MLS Cup winners since the LA Galaxy in 2011-12. Messi is also in line to become the league's MVP for a third consecutive season, after winning the award in 2024 and 2025.

Ask about this text

Ask your own question How many goals did Lionel Messi score in the MLS regular season?What is the new league points record set by Nashville SC?

Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.

Support Pollar