Lionel Messi can smell silverware: He’s once again hitting superhuman heights with another insane golazo

We’re now approaching the climax of the 2024 MLS season, Lionel Messi’s first full campaign in America, and the Inter Miami superstar looks determined to end it on a high.

The end-of-season play-offs are now taking shape, with a number of teams booking their place in the upcoming MLS Cup fixtures last night. There’s no such worry there for Inter Miami, who have long since booked their ticket.

Only once before in the club’s short history have Inter Miami made the play-offs, but on that occasion they stumbled out at the first round and ultimately finished an underwhelming 12th in the overall table.

Now, with arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport treating MLS audiences to regular exhibitions of his greatness, Inter Miami approach the business end of the 2024 season as the hot favourites to lift their first-ever MLS Cup.

But first, there’s the matter of the Supporters’ Shield – the annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record. Messi’s Inter Miami can clinch it on Wednesday evening when they face reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew, with three more games to spare after.

Inter Miami have actually already squandered recent opportunities to get their hands on the trophy, having drawn each of their last three matches.

But they simply do not know when they’re beaten, with Messi’s latest outrageous golazo from distance enough to claim them a point against Charlotte FC.

It just had to be him 🐐 💥 pic.twitter.com/hX0cuCd3E6

— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) September 29, 2024

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“I wish this were a 34-date tournament and the one that scores the most points would be the champion. Then this would be fabulous, we see it with good eyes, to be the best team of the regular phase. But the truth is that we would all feel very empty if we do not fight for the championship,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said after the game.

“So, yes, we have a very important game (Wednesday at Columbus), but even so, the remaining games – Toronto and New England – will also be important and decisive games. I think we will surely be in the fight until the last matchday.”

Messi has actually been unavailable for almost half – 15 of 31 – of Inter Miami’s matches this season, having missed five matches while away for the Copa America and a subsequent four with the ligament injury he picked up in the final.

Inter Miami’s star-studded squad actually did exceptionally well in his absence, winning eight of those nine matches, but Messi’s underlined his importance upon his return with two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia Union earlier this month.

Despite missing half a season, Messi sits in the top 10 goalscorers list with 14 goals – still with an outside chance of the Golden Boot – while he’s notched 25 goal contributions in total, 15 goals and 10 assists, averaging one every 53 minutes. To put that in context, during his best season at Barcelona – in which he notched over 100 goal contributions – he was averaging one every 51 minutes.

“Leo is going to get better and better as he adds 90 minutes,” Martino added.

“Obviously, Leo does not need to do differentiated physical work in training, but he needs a rhythm of competition, which gives me the idea that he is going to reach the playoffs very well because in addition to the games with us he has the games with the Argentinian national team. So, we have high hopes that he will come into the playoffs in very good shape.”

Mark the dates in your diaries. There aren’t going to be too many more opportunities to witness an all-time great like this in big, decisive games.

So watch it, drink it in.