AnalysisLionel MessiInter Miami CFMajor League SoccerFEATURES

The Argentine looks set to smash several single-season benchmarks in his first full campaign in the U.S.

When Lionel Messi does hang up his boots – and that day is coming sooner than many are willing to accept – he’ll have made his mark on the record books, to say the least. Messi basically tore up everything that preceded him during his time at Barcelona, so much so that the sport can now basically be defined by two eras: pre-Messi and post-Messi.

The MLS and Inter Miami record books are obviously much newer. The league is still in its infancy compared to its European counterparts, while compared to Barcelona, Miami is essentially a newborn. Their records are still being written and none are particularly set in stone.

He’s less than a year into his Miami career, but Messi is already taking down MLS marks left and right. The Argentine is destroying all in his path to start this season, and he’s showing no signs of stopping.

On current pace, Messi looks set to challenge some of the league’s top marks, and while nothing is guaranteed, particularly with a Copa America coming this summer, it seems like MLS’ record books are being rewritten before our very eyes by a player that’s no stranger to rewriting them.

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Messi’s hot start

Messi missed about a month of MLS games due to injury. If you look at his stats, though, you’d have no idea. The Argentine has more than made up for lost time, scoring goal after goal to open his MLS campaign. In seven matches, including six starts, Messi has directly contributed to a total of 16 goals. All of that has come in just 585 minutes, which means Messi is averaging a goal or an assist every 36.5 minutes. Even by Messi standards, that’s absurd.

He’s scored nine of his own and set up seven more, contributing to all-but four of the goals scored in the games he’s played for the Herons. With Messi on the field, Miami have dropped just four points from those seven appearances.

Despite missing time, Messi is leading the league with his nine goals, one more than Real Salt Lake’s Chicho Arango and D.C. United star Christian Benteke. In assists, Messi is also the league leader, level with Arango and Minnesota United playmaker Robin Lod.

All of that despite missing four matches due to injury. It’s no surprise, though… just Messi being Messi.

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Multi-goal madness

It’s not just the volume of goals, but rather the consistency. When Messi is on the field, you can basically guarantee multiple goals for Miami.

In his seven MLS appearances so far this season, Messi has contributed to more than one goal in all-but one. His most recent effort? A two-goal, one-assist explosion against the New England Revolution, matching a previous two-goal, one-assist explosion against Nashville SC just one week prior.

With his performance against the Revs, Messi became the first player in MLS history to record multiple goal contributions in five consecutive games. He also earned some unsurprising recognition from those at the league office…

Matching MLS royalty

On Monday, MLS made it official… not that we didn’t know it was coming. Messi was named MLS Player of the Matchday for Match 11, meaning the Argentine has claimed the award in two of the last three weeks.

By winning the prize, Messi joins Luis Suarez in winning it twice in this young season. The South American duo are the first pair of teammates to earn multiple Player of the Matchday honors in the first 11 matchdays since Landon Donovan and David Beckham did so for LA Galaxy. That’s decent company, for sure.

Additionally, Miami are the first club to have earned four of the first 10 Play of the Matchday honors since 2021, when the Galaxy did the same. It’s safe to assume that Messi isn’t done, though. There are plenty of goals and records still very much in his sights.

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Rewriting Miami’s records

Miami are still one of MLS’ newest clubs, and thus the club’s history books are still very much being written. All signs indicate that Messi will be doing plenty of that writing going forward, though.

As things stand, Gonzalo Higuain is Miami’s all-time leading scorer, with 29 goals from 70 games. For all of the criticism that followed him throughout his career, Higuain was a dominant goal-scorer who proved himself all over Europe. Thanks to one last surge before retirement, he then solidified his spot in the Herons’ young history.

Just behind Higuain in the rankings is current Inter Miami forward Leonardo Campana on 25 goals. And then there’s Messi, who is already on 22 goals. That puts him just seven behind his long-time Argentina teammate. The scary part? He’s needed just 22 games to hit that mark, nearly 50 fewer than Higuain played during his spell in South Beach.

Messi will inevitably be Miami’s top scorer; he may even have the mark before summer hits. When he seals the club records, he can then set his sights on MLS’ top marks, which could very well fall this season.

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MLS marks tougher to take down

Messi’s start is unprecedented. His 16 goal contributions are the most in MLS history through seven games. It’s three more than previous record-holders Thierry Henry back in 2012 and Carlos Vela in 2019. So that leads us to the big question: what kind of numbers can Messi realistically put up this season?

Vela smashed the single-season record for goals in that 2019 season, scoring 34 for LAFC. Considering we’re at about the one-third mark of the MLS season, Messi will need to pick up the pace to match the Mexico forward. With a mere nine goals so far, Messi is off the pace, although his injury absence factors into that.

If Messi were to play every game for the rest of the season at his current pace, he’d score 29 more goals, which would earn him the record. However, you can’t expect that to happen, particularly with the Copa America this summer.

The assist record, though, could also be in Messi’s sights. The current record is held by Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama, who set up 26 goals back in 2000 for the Tampa Bay Mutiny. That’s six more than second-place, which is jointly held by Sacha Kljestan and Maxi Moralez from their 2016 and 2019 campaigns, respectively.

Messi’s current pace has him pushing 30 assists, but once again, it’s hard to imagine him playing every game left on the schedule.

As for the single-season goal contribution mark, that too belongs to Vela. In addition to his 34 goals in 2019, Vela also provided 15 assists, totaling 49 contributions. With 16 already, Messi can certainly aspire to take that one down come the fall.

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Mad May beckons

In about a month, we’ll have a pretty good idea of where Messi stands in his record chases, as Inter Miami is set for some May madness with a chaotic schedule. The Herons will play six matches during the month, beginning with two revenge games. Having lost to both the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal earlier in the season without Messi, Miami will now face off against the two Eastern Conference rivals with the Argentine now fit and firing.

After that, the Herons will face Orlando City, who Messi carved up to the tune of two goals and an assist in a 5-0 win on March 2. Then comes matches against D.C. United, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Atlanta United in an 11-day span, with Miami facing a cross-country flight and just a few days rest between those final two games.

Can Messi, then, rewrite the MLS record books in this first full season? It’ll all depend on his availability. If he can stay healthy, it’s all there for the taking. Bigger picture, if he can put up those types of numbers, Miami will be nearly impossible to stop in their quest for MLS supremacy.