In soccer, there are few constants — however Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been two of them. The everlasting debate over who deserves the title of the biggest of all time stays alive even within the ultimate quarter of 2025, as each proceed to stretch the boundaries of longevity and brilliance. This week, Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi as soon as once more reminded the world why he’s nonetheless rewriting historical past at 38 years outdated, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo’s identify inevitably entered the dialog as soon as extra.
On a glittering Friday night time in Miami, Messi was honored earlier than kickoff with the 2025 MLS Golden Boot, awarded for scoring 29 objectives in 28 regular-season video games — an exceptional feat that topped him because the league’s high scorer. The pregame ceremony, led by MLS Commissioner Don Garber, was met with chants of “Messi! Messi! Messi!” echoing all through Chase Stadium.
However the Argentine wasn’t performed accumulating accolades. In true Messi trend, he celebrated the award with a efficiency to match his popularity. Dealing with Nashville SC within the first match of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Argentine scored twice and assisted one other in the Herons’ 3-1 win, giving his facet a commanding 1-0 lead within the best-of-three sequence.
He opened the scoring within the nineteenth minute with a diving header — a rarity in his profession — after linking up superbly together with his long-time teammate Luis Suarez. Later, he supplied the help for Tadeo Allende’s objective within the 62nd minute and sealed the victory in stoppage time with a trademark curling end. It was an evening of dominance, and but, the headline belonged to one thing far larger than the match itself.
Who did it sooner?
With that opening objective, Messi reached an astonishing 890 profession objectives — a quantity that cements his place amongst soccer’s immortals. In accordance with a number of experiences, together with ESPN, Messi achieved this landmark on the age of 38 years and 122 days, doing so sooner and youthful than Cristiano Ronaldo, who reached the identical milestone at 39 years and 89 days.
Furthermore, Messi wanted 1,131 video games to hit 890, whereas Ronaldo required 1,220 matches — that means the Argentine reached it in 89 fewer video games. “With in the present day’s first objective, Leo Messi has grow to be the quickest and youngest participant in soccer historical past to achieve 890 objectives,” reported One Soccer. “Messi did it in 89 fewer video games than Ronaldo.”
