Messi led the league for shots, through balls and big chances created, outperforming his expected goals by more than six. He’s 13 goals over ‘average’ since joining Miami, keeping up the kind of finishing overperformance that has been a through line across his career.

Messi was named a finalist for the MVP award Thursday along with Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga, San Diego’s Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Cincinnati’s Evander and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. The award is expected to be handed out before the MLS Cup final on Dec. 6.

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi was presented with his Major League Soccer Golden Boot award by commissioner Don Garber during a brief, on-field ceremony before his team's 3-1 victory over Nashville SC in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Messi was the MLS MVP in 2024 and he'll be tough to unseat. He scored a league-high 29 goals, five more than Bouanga and Surridge, and he tied for the lead in assists with 19. His