Despite the setback: Messi enters the history books with an unprecedented record
The Flea never stops breaking records
Lionel Messi's night at the end of the MLS regular season was far from perfect. He watched Inter Miami surrender a three-goal lead on home soil. Yet the Argentine still came away with a historic achievement, pulling off a feat no player had managed before in the history of the competition.
He never found the net against Charlotte FC, but he finished the 2026 season top of the scoring charts with 26 goals, claiming the Golden Boot for the second season running after his 29-goal haul last term.
That made the 39-year-old the first player in MLS history to win the Golden Boot in two consecutive seasons, and only the sixth to win the award more than once.
Penalties played almost no part in it. Messi scored 25 of his goals from open play and just one from the spot, the second-highest non-penalty tally in a single season in league history, behind only his own record of 28 in 2025.
Add 17 assists and his total goal contributions reached 43, topping that chart too. No player had ever racked up at least 40 goal contributions in two consecutive seasons until now.
A disallowed goal before Miami's revival
The clash at Nou Stadium crackled from the opening minutes. Charlotte thought they had taken the lead in the fourth minute through Liel Abada, only for the referee to disallow the goal after a video review, with a handball by Idan Toklomati spotted at the start of the move.
Inter Miami rode out the early scare and struck first in the 14th minute through Ian Fray, who followed up a ball that rebounded inside the penalty area after a corner.
Messi's influence showed again in the 33rd minute. His corner was headed towards goal by Germán Beltramé, and Luis Suárez followed it into the net.
Three minutes before the break, Rodrigo De Paul hammered home the third from outside the penalty area to send Inter Miami in 3-0 up.
What happened after half-time turned the match on its head.
Five minutes that brought Charlotte back into the match
Charlotte came out for the second half transformed and pulled one back in the 50th minute, Liel Abada turning a Tyger Smalls cross into the net.
The visitors did not wait long. Abada struck again just five minutes later for his second, exchanging passes with Pep Biel before firing a well-placed shot into the far corner.
Messi nearly killed off the comeback. He tried to chip the ball over the goalkeeper, but defender Henry Kessler cleared it off the line.
As Inter Miami clung to their lead, Charlotte exploited the defensive chaos. The decisive moment arrived in the 90th minute, when a Smalls shot rebounded off the post and fell to Rodolfo Oloko, who tucked it away to complete the comeback.
Messi refused to give up and almost snatched the win in stoppage time with a shot that struck the post, but the match finished 3-3.
A repeated scenario: a painful memory from the Orlando clash
Blowing a three-goal lead was nothing new for Inter Miami in 2026. They had endured an even crueller version on 2 May, when they led Orlando City 3-0 inside the first 33 minutes before losing 4-3.
Martín Ojeda tore them apart that night with a hat-trick. Orlando began the fightback with a goal before the break, added two more after it, then Tyrese Spicer snatched the winner in the 93rd minute.
Historic stuff, too. Orlando became only the fourth team in MLS history to win after trailing by three goals, and the first since 2018.
Charlotte's draw dragged that worrying defensive flaw back into focus. For the second time this season Inter Miami coughed up a three-goal lead on home turf, even if they avoided defeat this time.
Messi eyes another achievement in the play-offs
The draw still left Inter Miami second in the Eastern Conference on 60 points, helped by New England's 1-0 loss to Orlando.
Messi's side open their play-off campaign against seventh-placed Columbus Crew in a first-round series decided by a best-of-three format.
Nashville, meanwhile, grabbed top spot in the Eastern Conference by moving to 77 points with a 2-0 win over Cincinnati. That broke the previous record for most points in a regular season, set by Inter Miami with 74 in 2024.
