Inter Miami’s win at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday night against New England Revolution saw the team break the record for the most points in a Major League Soccer season. A key factor in the victory was Lionel Messi, who entered in the second half and netted a hat-trick, achieving a feat that even Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t matched.
Messi’s three goals against New England made him Inter Miami’s all-time leading scorer with 33 goals, surpassing teammate Leonardo Campana, who had 32. What makes this achievement remarkable is that the Argentine star reached this milestone in just 36 games—about a third of the games Campana has played.
This new record with Inter Miami adds to Messi’s legacy. He is also Barcelona‘s all-time leading scorer, having scored 672 goals—a record he set in 2012 at just 24 years old. With his latest feat, Messi becomes the first player in soccer history to hold the all-time leading scorer title for two different clubs.
Messi also did it for his country
In addition to his club records, Lionel Messi holds the title of all-time top scorer for Argentina, with 112 goals in 189 games, more than double his closest competitor, Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 54 goals.
Not even Cristiano Ronaldo can match this feat
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals scored for both the Portugal national team (133 goals in 216 games) and Real Madrid (450 goals in 438 games). However, unlike Messi, CR7 has not been able to replicate this achievement at another club.
Ronaldo has scored over 100 goals for both Juventus and Manchester United, but he is not the top scorer in the history of either club. At Al-Nassr, Ronaldo has 67 official goals since joining in early 2023—an impressive tally, but still far from the club’s all-time record, held by Mohammed Al-Sahlawi with 121 goals.