Lionel Messi Smashes MLS Record in Latest Inter Miami Win

Messi earned Player of the Match as Inter Miami defeated Toronto FC 4–2 on Saturday.

Lionel Messi had one goal and two assists on Saturday. | Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

Lionel Messi has once again rewritten history, further establishing himself as the greatest player of all time.

In Inter Miami’s 4–2 win over Toronto FC on Saturday, the star midfielder scored one goal and added two assists, earning Player of the Match honors, and more significantly, breaking Toronto legend Sebastian Giovinco’s record by becoming the fastest player in MLS history to reach 100 regular-season goal contributions, doing so in 64 matches—31 fewer than Giovinco needed (95 matches).

Messi left BMO Field with 59 goals and 41 assists in his 64 MLS regular season games, accrued since he joined the South Florida side in the summer of 2023.

One of one. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/GF7Y8P9o8t

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 9, 2026

Messi has taken MLS by storm, despite entering the league in the twilight of his career. The 38-year-old is the only player to have won MLS MVP two seasons in a row (2024 and 2025).

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner also set the record for most goal contributions in a single season—including regular and postseason matches—with 62 contributions in 2024–2025, surpassing LAFC’s Carlos Vela’s record of 52 set in 2019. Messi also has the record for the most goal contributions in a single postseason with 15 last winter: six goals and nine assists, a feat he achieved en route to the Herons’ first MLS Cup win.

Messi also holds the record for the most assists in a single MLS game: five against Red Bull New York in May 2024, the same match in which he scored a goal to secure the most goal contributions in a single game as well, six. Inter Miami won the historic match 6–2.

The former FC Barcelona legend now has 907 total career goals, becoming only the second player ever to hit the 900-goal mark when he scored against Nashville SC in Concacaf Champions Cup play back in March. Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to reach 900, doing so in 2024, and is well on his way to 1,000.

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Messi Graces Same Pitch as Giovinco, Ronaldinho

Legends of the game sharing the pitch in Toronto 🤩

🇮🇹🇧🇷🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/0lMcb8CLFu

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2026

Messi’s impressive showing against Toronto at BMO Field came less than 24 hours after the previous record holder, Giovinco, rekindled some of his former magic on the same pitch. 

On Friday night, a group of Toronto FC legends, including Giovinco and former U.S. men’s national team star Jozy Altidore, played to a 4–3 loss in a showcase game against a team of Brazilian legends, including Ronaldinho. Giovinco scored in the showcase, linking up with Altidore throughout the night. 

The former Italian international remains one of the best MLS players of all-time, having scored 68 goals and 52 assists in 114 regular-season games between 2015–19, while winning the 2015 MLS Golden Boot and MLS MVP Award, a dual feat Messi matched in 2025. 

Giovinco also helped Toronto to the 2016 and 2017 MLS Cup finals, winning the title in 2017. With that resumé, the club even brought the 38-year-old retiree back to trainings in 2025 to help the squad prepare for playing against Messi. Saturday’s outing proved the sound reasoning behind that, as Messi and Giovinco are so nearly aligned in their successes at the MLS level.

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