after increasing of MLS Golden Boot Trophy, Lionel Messi registers two goals and one assist to inspire inter miami cf to echo one win 3-1 Above Nashville SC In the first game of the Round One playoff series at Chase Stadium.
Inter Miami earned its first win in the best-of-three series before traveling to Nashville on November 1 in hopes of punching a ticket to the knockout rounds of the postseason. Tadeo Allende A goal was also scored in the first half in the victory, which head coach Javier Mascherano termed a team effort.
Mascherano said, “At this level, all players are important. To reach the highest point, we will need everyone because that is the reality. We try to transmit and be ready for what we get.”
MLS Commissioner Don Garber made a presentation before the match argentina With the award of the top scorer of the 2025 season the star announced that the forward has reset the trajectory for the league.
Messi won the Golden Boot after scoring 29 goals in 28 games, the first time he has earned the award since joining Inter Miami in 2023.
“I’m here tonight not just to attend the game but to present the Golden Boot to Leo,” Garber said. “I don’t think we ever thought that Leo would be able to do as well as he did for this club, this city and this league.”
The presentation of the award comes a day after Inter Miami announced that Messi has signed a three-year contract extension with the club, keeping him in South Florida through the 2028 season.
Garber said, “They’ve reset the trajectory for Major League Soccer, and we were already doing pretty well. And I think getting three more years will be another gift.”
“Hopefully, this is a gift that keeps on giving. Watching him play and seeing how happy he is here in Miami and here in the United States has been a thrilling experience.”
Messi, the favorite to win league MVP honors for the second consecutive time, also finished as the co-league leader with 19 assists.
When Messi joined Inter Miami in July 2023, he led the club to win that year’s inaugural League Cup trophy before capturing the 2024 Supporters’ Shield and setting an MLS record for most points recorded in a season.
Individually, Messi earned the 2024 MVP award and is a finalist for the 2025 edition. If Messi wins the award, he will become the first MLS player to win it on two consecutive occasions.
The new contract means Messi can remain with Inter Miami until he is 40. He is still the biggest name in football; Ticket revenue for MLS hit a record this year, Inter Miami’s value has doubled by some estimates to around $1.2 billion since his arrival and he has led the league in annual jersey sales since his arrival in mid-2023.
“I think he’s the unicorn of unicorns,” Garber said. “You know, there’s something about the way he plays. He thinks about the game in a way that no one else thinks. His intensity and desire to win is what makes him the greatest of all time. There are a lot of really competitive players out there, but he has this special ability, this dynamism that has made him focused on doing what he needs to do to win games.”
Garber also praised Inter Miami for how it announced the signing of Messi. The team revealed it on social media with a video of Messi signing his contract, then the camera pans out to show that he is actually sitting where the field will be inside the team’s new stadium near Miami International Airport. The stadium is scheduled to open next year.
“It shows how classy and smart they are,” Garber said.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
