It's safe to say that Lionel Messi has had a fantastic start to his career with Inter Miami. After joining on a free transfer from French giants PSG, Messi got right to work in the in-season Leagues Cup tournament. Granted, not every team from the MLS and Liga MX is playing their starting XI, but that doesn't take away from just how dominant Messi has been. Inter Miami are now in the final of the competition, where they will face Nashville FC on August 19. Meanwhile, Messi has scored in all six games Miami has played in the tournament so far.
However, the impressive nature of the six-game scoring streak goes beyond the Argentine's ability to find the net. Prior to Messi's arrival in Miami, the team was the worst side in the MLS. When they eventually resume league play, Messi will be joining a side that has just five wins on the season and hasn't won in the league since mid-May. That included a chronic inability to find the back of the net. Before the Leagues Cup began, Miami's leading scorer was Josef Martínez, who joined the team after a stellar career in Atlanta. Martínez had six goals. Six games later and Messi is now the team's joint top scorer alongside Martínez with nine goals.
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Messi Scores Nine Times In Six Matches
Last season at PSG, Messi had 21 goals in 41 appearances. Now, despite literally having already played 41 games in the last 13 months or so, Messi already has nine goals in six matches. He scored an injury-time winner in his debut, added two against Atlanta, had another brace against Orlando, a third consecutive pair of goals against Dallas, and then on goal apiece against Charlotte and Philadelphia. At some point, Messi will likely stop scoring. As mentioned, he is now on appearance #48 since the start of the 2022-23 season back in August 2022. Given when he joined Miami and the fact he won a World Cup in December, the man hasn't taken a prolonged break since the end of the 2021-22 season.
But his ability to absolutely dissect North American teams means that he has rocketed up the scoring charts. As mentioned, he now jointly leads Inter Miami. When the MLS restarts, the currently leading scorer is Harry Mukhtar of Nashville, who has 13. But Messi has fundamentally redefined dominance in the MLS. While Messi is already in a league of his in terms of playing ability, the US league has simply never seen a player like him. The league's all-time top scorer, Chris Wondolowski, netted 171 goals in a 16-year career. Messi debuted a year before Wondo and has played beyond his 2021 retirement. The Argentine superstar has 724 career goals. The MLS may never be the same again.
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