Lionel Messi continued making history in the 2025 MLS season, setting two new career milestones as Inter Miami trounced FC Cincinnati 4–0 to advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time in club history.
The 38-year-old scored a goal and three assists to help the Herons come out on top at TQL Stadium on Sunday night. Messi’s tally puts him atop the leaderboard for the most goal contributions in a single MLS Cup playoffs campaign.
Through four postseason matches under Javier Mascherano, the forward now has six goals and six assists to his name after recording five goals and three assists in the Round One best-of-three series against Nashville SC.
With his outstanding offensive output, Messi also hit a new personal milestone, reaching 1,300 goal contributions in all competitions through his 1,135 matches at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and with the Argentina men’s national team.
On Sunday, Messi opened the scoring in the 19th minute with a headed finish on a cross from Mateo Silvetti, before pulling strings through the rest of the night for a Tadeo Allende brace and a goal for Silvetti.
The Barcelona legend now has 11 goals and 11 assists in his last seven matches, contributing to all but three of the Herons’ goals in that span. Messi is averaging a goal contribution every 28.6 minutes.
The night brought his total for 2025 to 43 goals and 28 assists in 47 matches across all competitions, already enough to win the 2025 MLS Golden Boot with 29 goals and 19 assists in the regular season.
