MLS Golden Boot: The Favorites to Win in 2026

The 2026 MLS season has arrived and so has the race for the 2026 MLS Golden Boot, with stars across the league seeking to lift the trophy in the league's 31st season.

Fresh off winning MLS Cup with Inter Miami, Lionel Messi enters the season as the defending champion, having netted 29 goals and 19 assists in 28 games in 2025, amassing the most goal contributions in a single season.

This year, he will look to live up to that performance with the opportunity to become the sixth player all-time to win the award twice and the first since Bradley Wright-Phillips won in 2014 and 2016 with Red Bull New York.

Here, Sports Illusrtated takes a look at the top five contenders ahead of the 2026 campaign.

5. Wessam Abou Ali (Columbus Crew)

A mere five games into his MLS career with Columbus Crew, Wessam Abou Ali suffered a hairline fracture in his right ankle during a home match against Toronto FC on Sept. 20, 2025, sidelining him for the remainder of the season. Now, with an offseason of recovery and rehab under his belt, he enters 2026 as a contender for the MLS Golden Boot.

In his brief MLS showing, the Palestine international scored three goals in five games and looked to be the key piece that creative midfielder Diego Rossi needed to spark the Crew’s attack. His injury derailed some of the hype around his signing, but he now comes into the year as a practical new addition under new manager Henrik Rydström.

Many MLS fans saw just how potent an attacker he could be with his showing at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and effort against Inter Miami with Al Ahly, but 2026 will now give him his first chance to chase the Golden Boot, after a spell with the Egyptian giants that saw him score 28 goals in 35 appearances.

4. Son Heung-min (LAFC)

Son Heung-min’s introduction to MLS could not have gone much better, scoring nine goals and three assists in his first 10 regular-season games with LAFC, before adding three goals and an assist in three MLS Cup playoff matches.

While the South Korean superstar will be playing in a slightly adjusted system under new manager Marc Dos Santos, the understanding of attacking patterns and processes should remain fairly similar to the success of previous seasons. Once again, he’ll have Denis Bouanga to play off, and his midfield got an upgrade as well with the introduction of Canadian international Stephen Eustáquio from FC Porto.

Son won the Premier League’s Golden Boot in 2021–22 from a wide position, and now his more central role in LA will give him the chance to add to his trophy cabinet.

3. Germán Berterame (Inter Miami)

Germán Berterame is going to be one of the scariest tasks for defensive lines across MLS this season. After scoring 68 goals and adding 15 assists in 153 games with Rayados de Monterrey in Liga MX, he enters his first MLS campaign with plenty of confidence and a physical presence that few other attackers present.

Not only does he have an elite scoring record, but he will spend most games as the targetman for one of the world’s best players, Messi, among several other key playmakers at Inter Miami.

At 27 years old and signed through the 2028–29 season, with an option for 2029–30, the question shouldn’t be whether Berterame will win an MLS Golden Boot, but rather how many and what records he could break along the way.

2. Denis Bouanga (LAFC)

Already with the 2023 Golden Boot to his name, Denis Bouanga led the Western Conference in goalscoring in 2025, only trailing Lionel Messi for the overall Golden Boot title by five goals. This season, he enters his first full year alongside Son, after the two showcased their elite link-up play through the tail-end of the 2025 season.

Unlike Messi, Son and others, Bouanga won’t have World Cup matches to concern himself with this season, meaning he could enter the final stretch of the campaign with more rest, potentially allowing for a late charge towards the title.

At the same time, the possibility of Eustáquio providing a key role in vaulting LAFC’s attack to a new level could also be a difference maker.

1. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

Lionel Messi has been in the running for Golden Boot honors the last two seasons, and in 2025 came away with the title after hitting the back of the net 29 times in 28 games.

This season, the Argentine No. 10 will have more attacking talent with him as he surrounds himself with a full year of Tadeo Allende, as well as newly signed David Ayala in midfield and striker Germán Berterame up top.

At 38 years old, the biggest question about his pursuit of a back-to-back Golden Boot win will be his health and availability. Inter Miami is likely to play above 50 games in all competitions this season, and it also looks like Messi will play a key part in Argentina’s World Cup plans. How much time will he have to chase history in MLS regular-season play?

5. Wessam Abou Ali (Columbus Crew)

4. Son Heung-min (LAFC)

3. Germán Berterame (Inter Miami)

2. Denis Bouanga (LAFC)

1. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)

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