INTER MIAMI
Who is the top scorer in Inter Miami’s history? Could Messi pass him?
Messi has moved into joint third place in just a few weeks and surely has his eye on continuing this incredible start in Florida.
After just six competitive matches with Inter Miami, all of which have come in the Leagues Cup, Lionel Messi has moved himself into the top five goalscorers in the team’s history with nine goals to his name, level with Finnish teammate Robert Taylor and Josef Martínez from Venezuela.
Messi goals drive Inter Miami
Messi debuted with a goal against Cruz Azul, scored a brace against Atlanta United, another brace against Orlando City in the Florida derby, and scored two more in the game against FC Dallas.
He then added the cherry on the 4-0 win over Charlotte FC with the fourth goal of the game as Miami booked their place in the semifinals of the Leagues Cup. There he followed up with another in the semifinal demolition of Philadelphia. Not a bad start and next up Nashville in the showpiece final.
You can watch the 2023 Leagues Cup final live online on Apple TV.
Who is Inter Milan’s all-time top scorer?
Fellow Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuaín remains Inter Miami’s top scorer of all time with 29 goals to his name across 70 appearances. The former Real Madrid man scored eight of those from the penalty spot.
Second on the Florida franchise’s scoring charts sits Leonardo Campana with 16 in 52 games, before the aforementioned trio in joint third.
In Inter Miami’s brief history they have scored 162 goals in 129 matches (49 wins, 20 draws and 60 defeats). Scotland’s Lewis Morgan was the club’s top scorer with five goals in their inaugural 2020 campaign, while Higuaín netted 12 in 2021 and 16 in 2022. So far this season, Martínez and Messi already have nine.
After his incredible start, with a scoring ratio of 1.5, it may not take Messi long to surpass his former Argentina teammate at the top of the goalscoring charts. But how does this fit into MLS history?
What is the MLS goals record?
The record for the most goals scored in the history of MLS is currently held by Chris Wondolowski, who amassed an impressive total of 171 goals over his 16-season tenure in the league. While achieving a tally of that magnitude will likely remain a challenge even for the exceptional abilities of Lionel Messi, the prospect of attaining the record for the highest number of goals in a single MLS season is certainly plausible.
This particular accolade belongs to Carlos Vela, who set the mark by netting an astounding 34 goals during the course of 31 regular season matches in 2019. Although it’s likely too late in the current season, to break Vela’s record in the coming ones Messi would need to score at a rate of more than one goal per game; a feat he managed five times with Barcelona.