Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi made history on Saturday in just the first few minutes of the 2025 MLS season, becoming the fastest player to make 40 goal contributions in the league.
The Argentine No. 10 assisted on Miami's first goal of the season, setting up Tomás Avilés to take an early 1–0 lead over New York City FC. It took him 26 matches to reach the mark, combining his 19 assists and 21 goals scored for the club.
Former FC Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba set up Messi to make the final pass to Avilés. Minutes later, Avilés was sent off due to a red card.
The Argentina connection between Aviles and Messi. 🇦🇷
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 23, 2025
Leo gets his first assist of 2025 and @InterMiamiCF lead early.
📺 #MLSSeasonPass or Apple TV+: https://t.co/New3YJgffK pic.twitter.com/6hUqW4vjGb
Messi is in his third season with the Herons and second entire MLS campaign. In 2024, he played just 19 games, scoring 20 goals and 16 assists, but injury and international duty kept him out for a significant amount of time. Still, he became the fastest player to reach 25 goal contributions in a single season last year.
Check out the MLS legends he surpassed last season:
After joining Miami in the summer of 2023, Messi scored a goal and two assists in his first six MLS regular season games before leading Miami to the 2024 Supporters’ Shield and a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup 2026.
JOIN SI SOCCER'S INTER MIAMI WHATSAPP COMMUNITY - GET ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE
While he assisted Miami’s opening regular season goal, the 38-year-old already has a tally on the season, scoring a deft finish in his club’s 1–0 Concacaf Champions Cup win over Sporting Kansas City earlier in the week.
Subscribe here to MLS Season Pass
Miami hopes to win the 2025 MLS Cup and bounce back from a disappointing first round playoff exit against Atlanta United in 2024. If Messi adds more silverware in 2025, it will extend his world-record trophy haul, which already stands at 46 after winning the Supporters’ Shield and Leagues Cup with the Herons.
READ THE LATEST INTER MIAMI NEWS, PREVIEWS, PREDICTIONS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Lionel Messi Becomes Fastest Player in MLS History to Reach Incredible Milestone.
