Lionel Messi Wins Historic 2026 MLS Golden Boot Award, Full Stats From Inter Miami Regular Season

Lionel Messi has added more hardware to his collection.

Messi won the MLS Golden Boot award for the 2026 regular season and became the first player in league history to earn the honor in back-to-back years, per ESPN's Lizzy Becherano .

The Inter Miami star secured the award by racking up a league-high 26 goals in 31 games, including 29 starts. He also recorded 17 assists.

Messi wasn't able to score during Inter Miami's final match of the regular season on Saturday, which ended in a 3-3 draw with Charlotte FC. He picked up one assist in the contest, though.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is also a strong contender to earn MLS MVP honors for the third consecutive season.

If Messi is able to do so, he'd become the first three-time MVP in MLS history.

His first honor came after he helped Inter Miami win the Supporters' Shield in 2024 before his second occurred once he led his squad to the MLS Cup title in 2025.

Miami head coach Cristian "Kily" González recently made the case for Messi to receive MVP recognition.

"I have no doubt that he's the best of all," González said, per Becherano. "None of them can compare to him when it comes to respect for his colleagues.

"Leo at his age and what he does, from my point of view, deserves the MVP and also the Ballon d'Or. I hope he can achieve it."

Messi and Miami are now preparing for the MLS playoffs as the No. 2 seed, as they're set to face the Columbus Crew in best-of-three series to begin the postseason.