Messi's hat-trick lifts Inter Miami to MLS single-season points record

Lionel Messi took matters into his own hands.

Inter Miami made history Saturday night, crushing the New England Revolution 6-2 in the final game of the 2024 regular season to establish a new Major League Soccer record for points in a single campaign with 74.

Miami came back from 2-0 down to claim the record-breaking win, with Messi coming off the bench with the game tied in the second half and promptly scoring a hat-trick after he had helped create another marker.

The victory saw Miami eclipse the previous MLS record that was set when the Revolution racked up 73 points in 2021.

Gerardo "Tata" Martino's team is only the fourth in MLS history to break the 70-point barrier, joining the aforementioned Revs, LAFC (2019), and the New York Red Bulls (2018).

Miami went into the contest having already secured the Supporters' Shield. With the playoffs on the horizon, Martino opted to leave captain Messi out of the starting lineup as he continues to manage his minutes after a recent ankle injury.

The home side came out sluggish, conceding twice in the opening 34 minutes, but Luis Suarez scored a pair of slick goals in a three-minute span just before the halftime interval to bring Miami level and bring his tally to 20 goals on the campaign.

Messi entered the match to raucous applause in the 57th minute and within seconds made an impact as he helped create Benjamin Cremaschi's close-range finish. That stood up as the eventual match-winning goal.

But Messi wasn't done there. Not even close.

The Argentine then went on a personal scoring spree. He notched his first of the game with a vintage left-footed strike in the 78th minute, added another three minutes later, and then capped his rapid hat-trick by finishing off a sensational team move in the waning seconds.

He finishes the regular season with 20 goals in 19 matches.

After the match, with the team celebrating its multiple regular-season accomplishments, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed on the pitch that Inter Miami will take part in next summer's Club World Cup, adding that the MLS side will host the opening match of the supersized event on June 15.