Messi Wins Back-to-Back MLS Golden Boot With 26 GoalsSports

FC Dallas striker Petar Musa finished second in the 2026 scoring race with 22 goals, four behind Messi, while Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge was third with 21. Musa and Surridge both enjoyed fine seasons of their own, but neither could match Messi’s consistency over the full campaign. The gap underlined how consistently Messi found the net across the season, even as defences set out to stop him, and how much of Miami’s attack continues to run through their captain.

Miami’s playoff push

Inter Miami finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and now turn their attention to the playoffs, where they face No. 7 seed Columbus Crew in a Round One best-of-three series. Messi’s form will be central to their hopes of a deep run, with the club chasing the first MLS Cup in its history.

For Messi, the back-to-back Golden Boots add another first to a career already full of them. The record is a reminder that, even in the later years of his career, he remains the player every defence in the league has to plan around — and the one most likely to decide a game on his own, whether from open play or a free kick.