Lionel Messi has secured his second consecutive Major League Soccer (MLS) Golden Boot award after finishing the regular season with 26 goals, despite failing to score in Inter Miami’s 3-3 draw against Charlotte on Saturday.
The result saw the defending champions finish second in the Eastern Conference with 60 points, earning home advantage for the opening two rounds of the playoffs.
Messi, who assisted two goals from corner kicks during the match at Miami’s Nu Stadium, became the first player to win the MLS Golden Boot in successive seasons.
FC Dallas forward Petar Musa finished second in the scoring chart with 22 goals after failing to find the net in his side’s 3-1 victory over Colorado.
Inter Miami appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory after Ian Fray, Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul scored three first-half goals. However, Charlotte fought back after the break through Liel Abada, who scored twice, before Rodolfo Aloko struck a late equalizer.
Messi set up Miami’s opening goal in the 14th minute when his corner found Charlotte defender Luca de la Torre, whose attempted clearance fell to Fray, who finished to put the hosts ahead.
The Argentine supplied another assist in the 33rd minute, delivering a corner that Suarez met with a header at the near post to double Miami’s advantage.
De Paul added a third before half-time, but Charlotte responded early in the second period as Abada pulled one back before scoring again in the 55th minute.
Aloko completed the comeback in the 90th minute, reacting quickest after a shot from Smalls struck the post and fell into his path.
Messi came close to restoring Miami’s lead during stoppage time, but his effort hit the post. Aloko almost snatched a winner at the other end, sending a powerful shot into the outside of the net.
Nashville sets new MLS points record
While Miami settled for second place in the East, Nashville finished the regular season as conference champions and set a new MLS record for points in a season.
Nashville reached 77 points after beating Cincinnati 2-0, surpassing the previous record of 74 points established by Inter Miami in 2024.
The club finished with 23 wins, three defeats and eight draws.
New England ended third with 58 points after suffering a surprise 1-0 defeat away to Orlando, missing the opportunity to move ahead of Miami following the draw.
Inter Miami will open its playoff campaign against Columbus. The other Eastern Conference fixtures include New England against Philadelphia and Charlotte against Chicago, while Nashville will face the winner of the wild-card match between Orlando and Cincinnati.
Columbus secured seventh place with a 4-3 victory over Chicago, taking advantage of Cincinnati’s defeat to avoid the wild-card round.
Seattle and Real Salt Lake secure Western Conference places
In the Western Conference, Vancouver defeated fellow Canadian side Montreal 2-0 to finish second overall. The result gives the Whitecaps home-field advantage if they meet Inter Miami again in a repeat of last season’s MLS Cup final.
The final day of the regular season also produced a tight contest for the remaining Western Conference playoff places, with six clubs competing for three spots.
Portland, Colorado and the LA Galaxy entered the day knowing victories would guarantee qualification, but only Portland managed to win.
The Timbers beat Austin 2-0, while Real Salt Lake defeated the Galaxy 2-1 and Colorado lost away to Dallas. Those results allowed Real Salt Lake to reach the playoffs.
Seattle claimed the remaining place with a 2-1 home win over Los Angeles FC. Albert Rusnak scored in the opening minute before setting up Sebastian Gomez for the second goal in the 31st minute.
Eddie Segura pulled one back for LAFC in the 82nd minute, but Seattle held on for the victory.
Minnesota also finished the campaign with a win, beating San Jose 3-1, but ended one point behind Real Salt Lake and missed out on qualification alongside the Galaxy.
The Western Conference playoff match-ups will see Vancouver face the winner of the Seattle-Real Salt Lake wild-card tie, Dallas take on Portland, LAFC meet St. Louis and Houston play San Jose.
