Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Miami’s Messi has hat trick vs. Nashville, wins MLS Golden Boot

AP photo by John Amis / Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his goal with defender Jordi Alba, second from left, as Nashville SC midfielder Gastón Brugman, left, and defender Jack Maher walk away during the second half the MLS regular-season finale for both teams Saturday night in Tennessee.
AP photo by John Amis / Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his goal with defender Jordi Alba, second from left, as Nashville SC midfielder Gastón Brugman, left, and defender Jack Maher walk away during the second half the MLS regular-season finale for both teams Saturday night in Tennessee. AP photo by John Amis / Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) celebrates his goal with defender Jordi Alba, second from left, as Nashville SC midfielder Gastón Brugman, left, and defender Jack Maher walk away during the second half the MLS regular-season finale for both teams Saturday night in Tennessee.

By ANNE M. PETERSON / The Associated Press 4 min read

Lionel Messi left no doubt on Major League Soccer’s decision day.

The 38-year-old Argentine icon notched a hat trick in Inter Miami CF’s 5-2 victory over Nashville SC on Saturday night, with Messi’s trio of goals giving him 29 in the regular season to wrap up the MLS Golden Boot honor as the league’s leading scorer in 2025.

No other player had more than 24 goals this year.

Miami finished third in the Eastern Conference standings and will again face sixth-seeded Nashville starting Friday in the best-of-three opening round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Saturday was the league’s traditional decision day, the final day of the regular season when the the teams within each conference played their games simultaneously — Eastern teams kicked off at 6 p.m. Eastern, Western teams kicked off three hours later — with playoff spots and seeding on the line for some teams.