As Inter Miami CF readies for the MLS playoffs this October, all eyes are on Lionel Messi, the 38-year-old Argentine whose brilliance refuses to fade.
Time seems irrelevant when Messi steps onto the pitch.
Even after decades at the top of the game, he continues to deliver performances that leave fans and analysts in awe, numbers that redefine what is possible for a player entering the twilight of his career and a presence that has transformed Inter Miami from a mid-table side into a perennial contender.
Since his arrival in July 2023, Messi has carved out a record that seems almost mythical.
In 81 appearances, he has scored 68 goals and provided 35 assists, totaling 103 goal contributions, or roughly 1.27 per match.
This includes the grueling demands of MLS regular-season games, Leagues Cup clashes and CONCACAF Champions Cup fixtures, often against physically imposing opposition and in punishing travel schedules.
Even a significant ankle injury earlier in 2025, which sidelined him for weeks, could not halt his momentum.
This season alone, Messi has already scored 26 goals in 27 league appearances, putting him at the top of the MLS scoring charts and ahead of younger challengers in the Golden Boot race.
Messi’s influence is impossible to overstate.
On Saturday, he delivered a performance that will be remembered for years: a brace and an assist in Inter Miami’s 4-1 demolition of Atlanta United.
Two sublime left-footed strikes from outside the box, paired with a perfectly timed through-ball, illustrated the blend of finishing precision and playmaking intelligence that has defined Messi’s career.
His contribution has made Inter Miami the most potent offensive team in MLS this season, with 72 goals scored and a league-high 9.57 goals above expected, highlighting not just individual brilliance but his ability to elevate the entire squad.
The Argentine has claimed 20 Man of the Match awards in 2025, underscoring the consistency of his impact.
Across all competitions in 2025, Messi has played 41 matches, registering 32 goals and 19 assists, while logging 3,638 minutes on the pitch.
In MLS alone, he averages a goal per 90 minutes, with 87% of strikes coming from his lethal left foot, combining accuracy, timing and a tactical awareness that outsmarts defenders half his age.
His contributions were pivotal in Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup triumph in August, where he scored four goals in three games, including a hat-trick in the final.
His one-year contract extension through 2026 confirms his commitment to cementing a legacy in Miami, where he is not just playing but redefining the league’s global profile and drawing record crowds and viewership.
Messi’s career trajectory places these numbers in even sharper context.
Across Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami and Argentina, he has amassed 897 senior goals and over 1,270 goal contributions.
His achievements include 474 La Liga goals, 192 assists, a World Cup triumph in 2022 and a trophy haul that now stands at 46, the most in football history.
His consistency and efficiency – 0.83 goals per game career-wide – remain unmatched, while his presence in every competition he plays elevates the standard for his teammates and opponents alike.
Even in 2025, five goals in World Cup qualifiers for Argentina show he is still contributing on the international stage, adding to an already storied career.
The ongoing debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may never be settled, but the scales increasingly tip in Messi’s favor.
While Ronaldo’s athleticism and longevity are extraordinary, Messi’s combination of vision, creativity, scoring efficiency and silverware supremacy sets him apart.
From his Barcelona debut as a prodigious winger to his evolution into a complete forward and his historic spells at PSG and now Inter Miami, Messi’s career reads like a blueprint of excellence.
The 2025 campaign is further proof that age is merely a number; at 38, Messi is not winding down – he is authoring history with every touch, pass and goal.
