Lionel Messi: 25 MLS goals and a record in range
Lionel Messi leads MLS with 25 goals for Inter Miami and is closing on Carlos Vela's goal contribution record. Here is why he is still a top-three name.
Lionel Messi finished fifth in the 2026 Ballon d'Or voting, according to NBC Sports and Wikipedia, and he is still the player MLS tickets are sold on. The league table says why.
The numbers
ESPN lists Messi top of the MLS scoring chart with 25 goals in 29 matches and 14 assists, which puts him joint fourth for assists behind Evander and his own teammate Rodrigo De Paul, both on 16. Bernama, reporting on 18 October, had him on 15 and level with Son Heung-min then, so the exact figure depends on which source updated last.
That Bernama report covered a 3-1 win over Atlanta United in which Messi scored twice and set up a goal. It also noted he was closing on Carlos Vela's record of 49 goal contributions in a season, with a combined total of 40 at that point.
Inter Miami are third in the Eastern Conference on 56 points from 32 games, according to ESPN, which puts them inside the playoff line.
What nobody else does
Messi has stopped running the game with his legs and started running it with his decisions. He walks, scans, and waits for the one defender who moves wrongly. Then he moves. The goals tend to come in clusters because defenders cannot afford to look away for a second.
His social reach is unmatched by anyone outside Cristiano Ronaldo. IBTimes had him on 511 million Instagram followers in February.
What's next
The playoffs. ESPN's table shows the top seven in the East entering a best-of-three first round, and Miami are inside that line. Messi will decide whether the record falls before it begins or during it, if he gets there at all.
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