Olaleye Idowu
Lionel Messi on Saturday, became Inter Miami’s all-time leading scorer.
The 37-year-old scored a stunning hat-trickn 11 minutes to help the MLS side beat New England Revolution 6-2 at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Messi’s goals also helped Inter Miami break the MLS record for most points in a single season.
They finished the regular season with 74 points in 34 games and a 22-4-8 (W-L-D) record, narrowly besting the Revolution’s 2021 mark of 73 points.
Miami had gone two goals down, before Luis Suarez scored twice to level the scores.
But it was Messi who fittingly cemented the club’s name in league history.
Just one minute after coming on, he helped set up Benjamin Cremaschi to put Miami ahead for the first time in the 58th minute.
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner then scored his first hat trick for Miami and in the process became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 33 goals.
Miami also became the first team in MLS history to have multiple players score at least 20 goals in a season.