Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has won his second consecutive Major League Soccer (MLS) Golden Boot award, becoming the first player in the competition's history to claim the honour in successive seasons.

The Argentine finished the 2026 regular season with 26 goals in 31 appearances, four ahead of FC Dallas striker Petar Musa, who scored 22, while Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge finished third with 21 goals.

Messi also recorded 17 assists, taking his total goal contributions to 43, the highest in the league this season. He scored 29 goals to win the award in 2025.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner is the sixth player to claim the Golden Boot more than once since the award was introduced, joining Preki, Taylor Twellman, Jeff Cunningham, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Chris Wondolowski.

Despite failing to score in Inter Miami's final regular-season match against Charlotte FC, Messi provided assists from two corners as his side surrendered a three-goal advantage to draw 3-3.

Ian Fray, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul scored for Miami in the first half before Charlotte mounted a comeback through Liel Abada's brace and Rodolfo Aloko's late equaliser.

The result secured second place in the Eastern Conference for Miami, earning the defending champions home advantage in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Nashville SC established a new MLS single-season points record after defeating FC Cincinnati 2-0 on the final day of the regular season.

Nashville finished the campaign with 77 points from 23 victories, three defeats and eight draws, surpassing the previous record of 74 points set by Inter Miami in 2024.

The result also confirmed Nashville's position at the top of the Eastern Conference, with the club preparing to face the winner of the wild-card fixture between Orlando City and Cincinnati in the playoffs.