Lionel Messi, Petar Musa Battling for MLS Golden Boot
· Yahoo Sports
The two players at the top of the MLS Golden Boot race couldn’t be more different in terms of background. Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF, often considered one of the greatest athletes of his generation and one of the greatest soccer players of all-time, is battling it out with Petar Musa of FC Dallas, who never really made an impact in Europe despite some time with Benfica in Portugal.
Both players are entering Matchday 25 with 18 goals under their belt. For Musa, that ties a career-high which he set last season. Messi, on the other hand, is the reigning Golden Boot winner and finished last season with 29 goals. While he’s a bit off of his pace from last season, a hot streak could put him back in a similar range.
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Musa’s Record-Breaking Season
Musa has quickly become a player that’s expected to be near the top of the league in goals on an annual basis. During his first MLS season, he scored 16 goals then followed that up by tying FC Dallas’s single-season goalscoring with 18 in 2025. Now, he has become the first player in franchise history to score 18 goals in multiple seasons and has the opportunity to break the record outright with his next goal.
Even more importantly, Musa’s goals come at key moments in matches. This past weekend for example, the 28-year-old striker was able to score a brace to help his team’s comeback after Dallas went down 2-0 to Sporting Kansas City in the first 20 minutes. He scored Dallas’s second goal of the night, then scored a penalty in the 97th minute to secure a 4-3 victory.
Musa’s strong form hasn’t been ignored internationally either, as he was called up to the Croatian National Team for the World Cup and will return to international duty for the upcoming Nation’s League.
Business as Usual for Messi
Despite being 39 years old, it would be concerning if Lionel Messi wasn’t fighting for the Golden Boot on an annual basis. Messi is the lone MLS player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or this season, and his 2023 nomination was the first by an MLS player since David Beckham in 2007.
Messi has won that award a record eight times and when he retires, his name will live on forever with the likes of Pele, Johan Cruyff, and his countryman, Diego Maradona with soccer fans multiple generations from now knowing his name.
While around the world, Messi will be mainly remembered for his time at FC Barcelona, his dominance in the MLS won’t be forgotten any time soon either. With that being said, he’s far from guaranteed to walk out of this battle with Musa victorious. A four-goal performance against CF Montreal elevated him further into the race as Musa had previously been starting to pull away.
Messi has been held without a goal in eight of his 20 appearances and Musa has been kept off of the scoresheet in nine of his 21 games played. As a result, neither is truly more consistent than the other at this stage and the Golden Boot race can go either way as we enter the late stages of the season.
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