Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi made history on Saturday in just the first few minutes of the 2025 MLS season, becoming the fastest player to make 40 goal contributions in the league.Â
The Argentine No. 10 assisted on Miami's first goal of the season, setting up Tomás Avilés to take an early 1–0 lead over New York City FC. It took him 26 matches to reach the mark, combining his 19 assists and 21 goals scored for the club.Â
Former FC Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba set up Messi to make the final pass to Avilés. Minutes later, Avilés was sent off due to a red card.Â
Messi is in his third season with the Herons and second entire MLS campaign. In 2024, he played just 19 games, scoring 20 goals and 16 assists, but injury and international duty kept him out for a significant amount of time. Still, he became the fastest player to reach 25 goal contributions in a single season last year.
Check out the MLS legends he surpassed last season:
Player
Season
Games
Lionel Messi
2024
12
Carlos Vela
2019
16
Cobi Jones
1988
18
Diego Serna
2001
19
Robbie Keane
2013
20
Landon Donavon
2008
20
After joining Miami in the summer of 2023, Messi scored a goal and two assists in his first six MLS regular season games before leading Miami to the 2024 Supporters’ Shield and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2026.Â






