Lionel Messi shows no signs of slowing. At 39, the Inter Miami captain is riding a surge that could become a career‑defining run.
He has found the net or set up a teammate in each of his last 14 outings, a sequence that kicked off on Aug. 15 with an assist in a 4‑1 victory at Nashville. Twelve of those games came in MLS, plus two marquee fixtures beyond the league.
On Sept. 16 he netted his 100th goal for Inter Miami and delivered a pass for Casemiro in a 2‑0 Campeones Cup win over Cruz Azul. Ten days later, in his Argentina farewell, he slotted a penalty and created two more in a 3‑0 triumph over Benin.
Overall he has tallied 15 goals and eight assists during the stretch, the latest being a brace on Oct. 17 in a 3‑1 win at Atlanta United that pushed his MLS total to 25 this season.
The only longer run came in 2011 when he logged 18 goals and nine assists across 17 straight official games with Barcelona, meaning three more matches would bring him level.
Nashville on the brink of Supporters’ Shield as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami run out of road
The chance to do it is close at hand. Inter Miami still have four games left in the regular season, starting with visits to Red Bull New York and the New England Revolution, as well as a home match against FC Cincinnati. If Messi contributes in each of them, he will match his career‑best mark, and a goal or an assist against Charlotte FC on Nov. 7, on the final day of the regular season, would give him a new record.
Breaking down Messi’s hot streak with Miami
It all began on Aug. 15 in Nashville, where Messi supplied the decisive pass in a 4‑1 win over the club now leading the Supporters’ Shield race. Since then he has struck 13 times and handed out five assists in 12 consecutive MLS games, doing it in every conceivable way.
He found the net in eight matches and set up a teammate in five, highlighted by four goals in a 7‑1 demolition of CF Montreal, a goal and an assist in a 2‑2 draw with Nashville, and a brace in a 4‑0 victory over D.C. United.
Whether or not Messi eclipses the record, the timing couldn’t be better for Inter Miami. The defending MLS Cup champions head into the playoffs with their skipper in peak form. For a side no longer chasing the Supporters’ Shield, Messi’s run is the best reason to believe they can defend their title.