Inter Miami CF Forward Lionel Messi Named MLS Player of the Matchday Presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 39

NEW YORK (Monday, October 20, 2025) – Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra for Matchday 39 of the 2025 MLS season.

Messi finished off his 2025 regular season with three goals and an assist in Inter Miami’s 5-2 victory against Nashville SC on Decision Day (Watch Highlights From His Performance Here). Entering Decision Day with a two-goal lead in the race for the league’s scoring title, Messi brought his season-ending goal total to 29 as he captured the Golden Boot presented by Audi. Messi is the third player since 2005 to score at least 29 goals in a Golden Boot-winning season, joining Josef Martínez (31 in 2018) and Carlos Vela (34 in 2019), and his 1.03 goals-per-game average is second to only Vela’s 2019 campaign (1.10 goals per game) among Golden Boot winners since 2005. Twenty-eight of Messi’s 29 goals this season came away from the penalty spot, the most in a single season in league history by three goals, with his lone penalty-kick goal in 2025 coming in the finale.

Messi also extended his single-season MLS record with his 10th multi-goal game of 2025. With his assist on the club’s fifth and final goal, the Argentine legend also secured a share of the league lead in assists with 19, matching San Diego FC’s Anders Dreyer. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is the second player in MLS annals to lead the league in both goals scored (29) and assists (19), joining Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco in 2015 (22 goals, 16 assists).

The 2024 Landon Donovan MLS MVP opened the scoring in the 35th minute as he drove past multiple Nashville defenders and then fired an effort past the goalkeeper from outside the 18-yard box (Watch Here). After Miami fell behind 2-1, Messi equalized with his first penalty kick goal of the season in the second half (Watch Here). Baltasar Rodríguez would give Miami the lead in the 67th minute and then Messi completed his hat trick 14 minutes later thanks to a brilliant passing combination with Ian Fray (Watch Here). The visitors would complete the 5-2 victory in second-half stoppage time as Messi found Telasco Segovia for their fifth goal of the contest (Watch Here).

This is Messi’s sixth Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra honor of the season, becoming the first player in MLS history to win the honor six times in consecutive seasons. His 12 Player of the Matchday accolades are tied with Bradley Wright-Phillips (12) for the third-most in MLS history, trailing only Landon Donovan (19) and Jeff Cunningham (14).

Messi and Miami next begin their Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs journey in the Round One Best-of-3 Series as they host Nashville SC at Chase Stadium in Game 1 on Friday, October 24 (8 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass and Apple TV, FS1, Fox Deportes, TSN, RDS).

The MLS Player of the Matchday presented by Michelob Ultra is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.