Lionel Messi has made MLS history by becoming the first footballer to win the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons, ending the 2026 regular season as the competition’s leading scorer for Inter Miami.
The Argentine forward collected this year’s award after netting 26 times in 31 league matches. He had already taken the prize in 2025, when he scored 29 goals across 28 appearances.
That successive run makes Messi the first player ever to claim MLS’s individual scoring award in consecutive campaigns. He joins a small collection of multiple Golden Boot winners, but no previous player had managed to retain the honour the following season.
Messi’s impact in 2026 extended well beyond his finishing. He also supplied 17 assists, giving him 43 direct goal involvements over the regular-season campaign.
Since arriving at Inter Miami in July 2023, Messi has built an extraordinary record for the club, scoring 100 goals in 115 matches in all competitions. The total has established him as Inter Miami’s leading scorer of all time.
