Lionel Messi won the MLS Golden Boot for the second consecutive year and reached a new unprecedented record

The passage of time seems to have no effect on the competitive hunger of Lionel Messi. At 39 years old, after winning various titles both individually and collectively, the former captain of the Argentine National Team continues to find reasons to grow his story. This time, he once again secured the highest recognition for goal scorers in the Major League Soccer (MLS) and achieved a milestone that no other player had reached.

The Rosario native won the Golden Boot 2026 after finishing the regular season with 26 goals in 31 matches. Behind him were Croatian Petar Musa from FC Dallas, who scored 22 goals, and Englishman Sam Surridge from Nashville SC, who completed the podium with 21.

With this new distinction, added to last year's, the former Barcelona player became the first player in the history of the competition to obtain the award in two consecutive campaigns. Previously, five players had achieved two Golden Boots, although none had repeated in consecutive years: Predrag Radosavljević (1997-2003), Taylor Twellman (2002-2005), Jeff Cunningham (2006-2009), Chris Wondolowski (2010-2012), and Bradley Wright-Phillips (2014-2016).

One of the most notable aspects of his performance was that he only scored one penalty goal. With an average of 0.84 goals per game, he also directly participated in 43 goals for Inter Miami and shared the top spot in the league for matches with at least two goals, with six.

His performance once again set historical records. The 26 goals represent the second-best individual mark in a season of the MLS, only behind the 28 that the Argentine himself achieved in 2025. Additionally, he became the second player to reach at least 25 goals in two consecutive seasons.

During that same period, he accumulated 55 conversions, a figure that only Josef Martínez surpasses, who scored 58 between 2018 and 2019. If the record is expanded to the last three regular seasons, Messi totals 75 goals, the second-highest amount for a player in that span. He also shares with Denis Bouanga the privilege of being one of the two players who scored at least 20 goals during three consecutive campaigns.

The third MVP, another historic goal

The Golden Boot is not the only recognition Messi has on the horizon. The Argentine is also one of the main candidates to win the Landon Donovan MVP Award of the MLS, an award he already won in 2024 and 2025.

If he achieves it again, he would become the first player to win three consecutive MVPs in the history of the American championship. The voting has already closed and includes the participation of league players, accredited journalists, and club representatives, including coaches, executives, and directors.