Lionel Messi has won the 2026 MLS Golden Boot, becoming the first player in league history to win the award in consecutive seasons.

The Inter Miami forward finished the regular season with a league-high 26 goals in 31 matches, four clear of FC Dallas forward Petar Musa, who scored 22. Messi also added 17 assists, giving him a league-leading 43 goal contributions for the season.

A first in MLS history

No player had previously won the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons. Messi is now the sixth player to win the award more than once, joining Bradley Wright-Phillips, Chris Wondolowski, Jeff Cunningham, Taylor Twellman and Preki — but he is the first to do it in successive years.

Messi scored 29 goals when he won the award in 2025, making him only the second player in MLS history to score at least 25 goals in consecutive regular seasons. Across the past three seasons he has scored 75 regular-season goals, the second-most by any player over a three-season span in the league.

A remarkable season at 39

The 39-year-old Argentine retired from international football earlier this year after 21 years with Argentina, but he has shown no sign of slowing down at club level. He signed a contract extension with Inter Miami through 2028 in October.

Messi also won the Silver Boot at the 2026 World Cup while leading Argentina to the final, months before collecting this latest honour.

Messi's 43 goal contributions in 2026 — 26 goals and 17 assists — were the most in the league and made him the first player in MLS history to record at least 40 goal contributions in successive seasons. Across the past three campaigns he has 127 goal contributions in total.

Play-offs next for Inter Miami

Inter Miami finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference and now turn their attention to the MLS Cup play-offs, where they face the Columbus Crew in a best-of-three first-round series as they look to defend their title.

Inter Miami finished the regular season second in the Eastern Conference with 60 points, comfortably qualifying for the post-season. No team has successfully defended the MLS Cup title since LA Galaxy did it in 2011 and 2012, so Messi and his team-mates face a rare challenge if they are to retain the crown.

Messi is also in contention for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award, which he has already won in each of the past two seasons. Winning it again would make him the first three-time winner of the league's top individual prize.