Coach Javier Mascherano highly commended Lionel Messi's outstanding performance in Inter Miami's win against Nashville.
Inter Miami concluded the 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield season with a convincing win over Nashville. In this match, Lionel Messi once again stood out for Inter Miami by scoring a hat-trick and providing an assist, directly securing three points for his team.
Watching his player's performance, Coach Javier Mascherano could not hide his excitement and praised the Argentine superstar.
In the post-match press conference, he stated: "What more can I say about Leo? Honestly, today he delivered another exceptional game, as usual.
Clearly, if anyone still doubted his form this season, today's display has completely erased those doubts. I am confident Leo will be awarded the Most Valuable Player of the season, fully deserving of everything he has shown.
As for Leo's three goals, I just feel happy for him; once again, he was the one who brought victory to the team."
With 19 assists and 29 goals, Messi is just one contribution away from Carlos Vela's MLS single-season record of 49 goal involvements The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is almost certain to claim the MLS Golden Boot for the first time since joining Inter Miami in July 2023.
Messi's closest rival, Denis Bouanga (LAFC), is currently 5 goals behind and would need to score 6 goals against Colorado to overtake him. Moreover, El Pulga also leads the league in assists, which is the tiebreaker when players have the same number of goals in the Golden Boot race.
Sam Surridge (Nashville SC) currently sits second with 24 goals after scoring against Miami in the recent match.
So far, only three players have scored more goals than Messi in a single MLS season: Carlos Vela (34 goals), Josef Martinez (31 goals), and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (30 goals).
Thanks to the Argentine superstar's brilliant form, Inter Miami finished the season third in the Eastern Conference, securing home advantage in the playoffs. Messi's team will face Nashville again in the first round of the 2025 MLS Playoffs.