Lionel Messi has had the best season in MLS history, all that’s left to accomplish is winning the MLS Cup

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are one win away from the first MLS Cup appearance in their history, and at 38, the Argentine shows no signs of slowing down. The Herons will host New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final at Chase Stadium on Saturday as they look to secure a trophy to end their season on a strong note. Adjustments by Javier Mascherano have the team riding a shutout streak of more than 200 minutes, but during these playoffs, one thing has been made clear: Miami will go as far as Messi can take them. 

This is obviously no surprise. Even at his age, Messi was far and away the best player in MLS this season. He led the league in goals, with 29, five more than anybody else, assists with 19 (tied with Anders Dreyer), and shots with 157. Of those goals, 28 were non-penalty goals an MLS record. He did this all while only playing in only 28 games in a 34 game regular season schedule. Messi may be 38 years old, but he remains Lionel Messi, an unstoppable force the likes of which the world, let alone MLS, has never seen.

And then the playoffs started, and things got even better. 

How to watch Inter Miami vs. New York City FC, odds

• Date: Saturday, Nov. 29 | Time: 6 p.m. ET
• Location: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Live stream: MLS Season Pass
• Odds: Inter Miami -210; Draw +360; NYCFC +490

With 12 goal contributions during the playoffs, no player has more in MLS history, and Messi’s six goals lead all members of the playoffs, and so do his six assists (including secondary assists). He’s done this in just four games, but it’s unheard of for one player to have been involved in every goal for their club during a playoff run. But that’s just what Messi has done during his time in MLS. He has made the unheard of seem regular, and this run is no different.

No team has ever won MLS Cup with one player contributing to all of their goals, so if Miami can accomplish that with Messi keeping up what he has been doing, they can make even more history during this postseason. Taylor Twellman, himself an MLS legend, contributed to every goal on the run New England Revolution made the final in 2007, but they fell to the Houston Dynamo in the MLS Cup. Also, that was a grand total of three team goals, Miami is already at 12.

Players to be involved in every goal contribution

Minimum four games played

You can already see clear differences in how many goals Messi has been involved in compared to others on this list, and while the league MVP hasn’t been announced yet, it’d be a surprise for anyone other than Messi to win the award, as he’s arguably having the best season of anyone to ever come through MLS.

Messi may not have a trophy to mark what he’s done yet, but with Miami becoming the first MLS team to ever defeat a team from a European top-five league when they triumphed over Porto during the Club World Cup, this is a team showing what the possibilities are for MLS, and a large reason for that is Messi’s impact so let’s take a deeper look at some numbers that have defined the season so far.

48: Goal Contributions during the MLS regular season

With 29 goals and 19 assists during the season, only one player has had more, and that’s Carlos Vela in 2019. Vela had a whopping 49 goal contributions with 34 goals and 15 assists, being involved in more than a goal per game. Those two stand alone, and even with the league including secondary assists in their numbers, this is an astounding figure. It’s worth nothing that excluding secondary assists Messi jumps ahead of Vela on the goal contribution front as 16 of Messi’s 19 assists were primary assists while only 10 of Vela’s 15 were. Then there’s the question of penalties. Vela scored a whopping nine goals from the penalty spot, Messi scored one.

No one has been able to stop Messi when he’s on the pitch, and even when he has to pick his spots to get forward, the Argentine’s ability to float into space is unmatched. Having a player like this on the team also opens up opportunities for those around them, which should bring no surprise that Miami’s 12 goal contributions during this playoff run are the most of any team.

7: Consecutive matches with a goal or an assist

To have so many goal involvements, a player needs to be consistent, and of course, Messi has done just that. You ahve to go back to September 30, facing the Chicago Fire, to find he last time that Messi hasn’t been involved in a goal. Since then, he has had 11 goals and 11 assists. Quite some balance, but in the 32 MLS matches that Messi has featured in this season, including the playoffs, he has only failed to register a goal contribution in five matches. Miami has also failed to win any of those matches, losing four and drawing one. So it’s simple: if NYCFC stops Messi, they can win the match. Just statistics say that it’ll be quite hard to do.

0: Trophies this season

While the Messi era has brought Miami a Supporters’ Shield and Leagues Cup trophy, this is one number that the Herons are trying to change, and New York City FC will stand in their way of doing that. NYCFC is the only team remaining in the playoffs that have won the MLS Cup before, but that doesn’t mean Miami won’t have enough experience to get them through the match in front of their home fans. Looking to not only send Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets into retirement on a high note but also close out Chase Stadium with a trophy, all of the pressure will be on the Herons to get the job done. 

That’s part of why the playoffs have had a different intensity for them. Last season’s first round exit to Atlanta United is firmly in the past, but this season also isn’t a successful one without a trophy. Just having Messi in the side raises expectations for Inter Miami above what has ever been expected from any MLS side, and they can reach those but not winning MLS Cup will only bring more questions to the side.