Lionel Messi made the most of being released from Argentina’s friendly against Venezuela played on Friday (10).
He scored twice in Inter Miami’s 4–0 win over Atlanta Utd this Saturday (11), in the MLS regular season.
And, at 38, he took the outright lead in the scoring charts in front of his home crowd.
He reached 26 goals, surpassing Denis Bouanga’s 24, as Bouanga misses time with Los Angeles FC to try to lead Gabon to the 2026 World Cup.
Only former Barça players were scoring
Messi opened the scoring at 39'.
Quien más que él… Golazo de Leoooo 🤩⚽️ pic.twitter.com/kVtxVTA2PK
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 12, 2025
The sequence included a (beautiful) pass from the No. 10 to Alba, who is playing his final matches before retirement (52').
On his night, he found the net. LET’S GO
JORDI! 🔥⚽️ pic.twitter.com/9qvikNzZpD— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 12, 2025
Luisito Suárez scored the third (61').
Que definición del 9. 🇺🇾🔥 VAMOSSS pic.twitter.com/i3alsV3Uq7
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 12, 2025
And he, Messi, scored his 26th goal of the current MLS season at 87' — after a pass from Alba.
JORDI ➡️ LEO 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Rnmbc5Snkc
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 12, 2025
It was the first time in the history of the league’s regular season that a player scored more than one goal in nine games.
With his brace tonight, @InterMiamiCF's Lionel Messi became the first player in @MLS history to produce nine multi-goal games in a single regular season. pic.twitter.com/BpkelhGstD
— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) October 12, 2025
Already assured of a playoff spot, Inter Miami reached 62 points in the Eastern Conference.
They remain in third with only the clash against Nashville SC next Saturday (18) left.
Eliminated Atlanta, meanwhile, stays on 27 and in the second-to-last place.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 Rich Storry – 2025 Getty Images
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