Lionel Messi's hat trick all but clinches MLS Golden Boot - ESPN

Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi struck a hat trick on the final day of MLS' regular season Saturday to all but clinch the 2025 MLS Golden Boot award.

Messi's three goals, along with an assist, helped Miami to a 5-2 win at Nashville SC and took the Argentina forward to 29 goals in just 28 regular-season matches.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is now almost certain to finish as MLS' top scorer for the first time since joining Inter Miami in July 2023.

— Messi tracker: All goals, assists, key moments

His nearest challenger, LAFC's Denis Bouanga, is five goals back and would need six goals against Colorado later Saturday to take the award. Messi also leads the league in assists, which is the first tiebreaker for the Golden Boot.

Nashville SC's Sam Surridge is currently tied for second on 24 goals after scoring against Miami on Saturday.

Only three players — Carlos Vela (34), Josef Martínez (31) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (30) — have scored more goals in a single MLS regular season than Messi.

With 19 assists, along with his 29 goals, Messi finished one shy of Vela's MLS record of 49 goal contributions in a single regular season.

Messi's contributions propelled Inter Miami to third place in the Eastern Conference, securing home-field advantage for the playoffs. The team will face Nashville again in the first round of the 2025 MLS playoffs.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano has insisted Messi has done more than enough on the field to earn the 2025 MLS MVP award, which would make him the first player to win the trophy on two consecutive occasions.

«Well, what can I say about Leo? The truth is, well, today he was exceptional, as he usually is,» Mascherano said in his postgame news conference.

«Clearly, I think if anyone had