Messi was named a finalist for the MVP award Thursday along with Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga, San Diego’s Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC), Cincinnati’s Evander and Nashville’s Sam Surridge. The award is expected to be handed out before the MLS Cup final on Dec. 6.

Fresh off winning the MLS Golden Boot and being named a finalist for MLS MVP, Messi opened the scoring for the Herons in the 19th minute with a diving header off a cross from longtime teammate Luis Suárez, showcasing the 38-year-old’s off-ball smarts with deceiving runs into the box.

With Inter Miami set to open a new stadium and the 2026 World Cup approach, Messi’s impact on the field is only a small portion of the story.

Messi led the league for shots, through balls and big chances created, outperforming his expected goals by more than six. He’s 13 goals over ‘average’ since joining Miami, keeping up the kind of finishing overperformance that has been a through line across his career.

After Lionel Messi's contract extension with Inter Miami, many were quite surprised by the contract duration. The Argentine will continue until the end of 2028. In line with Messi's decision, we've

Lionel Messi had many iconic El Clasico moments, we look through his best moments against Real Madrid for Barcelona.