Lionel Messi is three games away from matching the longest goal contribution streak of his career

Lionel Messi is not slowing down. At 39, the Inter Miami captain is in the middle of a run that is starting to look like one of the best of his career, and the next few weeks could put it into the record books.

Messi has scored or assisted in each of his last 14 games, a streak that began on Aug. 15 with an assist in a 4-1 win at Nashville. It includes 12 straight MLS matches, as well as two special nights outside the league.

On Sept. 16, he scored his 100th goal for Inter Miami and assisted Casemiro’s goal in a 2-0 win over Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup final, while on Oct. 6, in his farewell match for Argentina, he scored a penalty and set up two goals in a 3-0 win over Benin.

In total, Messi has 15 goals and eight assists during the run, and his latest performance came on Oct. 17, when he scored a brace in a 3-1 victory at Atlanta United to reach 25 goals this season in MLS.

The only longer streak in his career dates back to 2011, when he scored 18 goals and provided nine assists over 17 consecutive official games with Barcelona, which means he needs three more matches to tie it.

The chance to do it is close at hand. Inter Miami still have four games left in the regular season, starting with visits to Red Bull New York and the New England Revolution, as well as a home match against FC Cincinnati. If Messi contributes in each of them, he will match his career-best mark, and a goal or an assist against Charlotte FC on Nov. 7, on the final day of the regular season, would give him a new record.

Breaking down Messi’s hot streak with Miami

It all started on Aug. 15 at Nashville, where Messi set up a goal in a 4-1 win over the team that is now running away with the Supporters’ Shield. Since then, he has scored 13 goals and provided five assists in 12 straight MLS matches, and he has done it in every way imaginable.

He scored in eight of them and assisted in five, with some nights bigger than others: four goals in the 7-1 rout of CF Montreal, a goal and an assist in the 2-2 draw with Nashville, and a brace in the 4-0 win over D.C. United.

Whether or not Messi breaks the record, the timing could not be better for Inter Miami. The defending MLS Cup champions are heading into the playoffs with their captain in the form of his life. For a team that can no longer chase the Supporters’ Shield, Messi’s run is the best reason to believe they can defend their title.