Video: Lionel Messi reaches 934 career goals with brace for Inter Miami vs DC United at 2026 MLS season

After saying goodbye to the Argentina national team, Lionel Messi returned to action with Inter Miami in the best possible way, scoring against DC United to extend his team’s lead to 3-0 at Nu Stadium.

Messi’s goal came from a pass by Luis Suárez, who is the star of the night for the home side. The Uruguayan had opened the scoring less than three minutes into the match and added a second goal before halftime, tapping in a rebound after Messi’s shot was saved by the goalkeeper. He then completed his performance by setting up Messi for the third, having been involved in all three of his team’s goals.

But the night was not over for Messi. In the 60th minute, the Argentine scored his second goal of the match and made it 4-0, dribbling past several DC United defenders before finishing across the goal with a precise shot.

With those goals, the Argentine reached 23 goals this MLS season with the Herons and remains the outright leader of the MLS Golden Boot race, where he is aiming for a second consecutive award. He also has 13 assists, and with six regular-season matches still to play, he has plenty of time to extend his lead.

Messi and Ronaldo’s race to 1,000 career goals

Messi’s brace against DC United took him to 934 career goals, including 672 with Barcelona, 126 with Argentina, 104 with Inter Miami and 32 with Paris Saint-Germain. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, scored his 980th goal on Friday, for Al Nassr against Al Diriyah, which leaves the Portuguese forward 20 goals away from the historic milestone while Messi still needs 66.

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The gap between them is 46 goals, and the picture is different for each player. Messi, now 39, retired from international soccer after the win over Benin on October 6, so every goal from here on will come with Inter Miami, while Ronaldo, 41, still has both Al Nassr and the Portugal national team as options, although his recent fallout with Jorge Jesus has put his international future in question.

Either way, Ronaldo is the clear favorite to become the first player to reach 1,000 goals, with Messi chasing the milestone as the only other player to have passed 900.