Lionel Messi has made a habit of breaking barriers in Major League Soccer, but the final day of the 2026 regular season could add two more entries to his collection. At 39 years old, the Inter Miami captain heads into the last matchday with a chance to achieve two feats that no player has accomplished in the league’s 31 years of history.
The first one is the Golden Boot. Messi arrives at the final match with 26 goals, four more than his closest pursuer, Dallas forward Petar Musa, and with the chance to become the first player in MLS history to win two consecutive scoring titles.
Several players have won the award more than once, among them Preki, Taylor Twellman, Jeff Cunningham, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips, but none has done it in back-to-back seasons.
The Argentine has been at the center of Inter Miami’s season once again. In 30 league matches, he has scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists, numbers that make him the main candidate for the individual awards this year.
Inter Miami closes the regular season on Saturday against Charlotte FC, and Messi will have one last chance to extend his advantage over Musa. If the Dallas striker does not close the gap, the Golden Boot will go back to the Argentine, and with it a record that has eluded some of the best scorers in the league’s history.
A third MVP in three seasons
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The second record is the MVP award. Messi is the main candidate to win his third Most Valuable Player award in three full seasons with Inter Miami, something that no player has achieved in MLS history. He already holds two, and with a third he would stand alone in the history of the league’s most prestigious individual honor.
Beyond his numbers, the Inter Miami star has kept the team among the top contenders in the East, a combination of impact and consistency that has defined each of his MVP-caliber campaigns since he arrived in 2023.
The regular season ends this weekend, but the story will continue through the playoffs, which begin on Nov. 18. For Messi, the chance to leave his mark twice in the same year, with a second Golden Boot and a third MVP, would only strengthen a legacy in American soccer that no one has been able to match.
