Lionel Messi secures his record 46th trophy, as Inter Miami excelled both with and without him.

Inter Miami secured Major League Soccer’s regular season title on Wednesday, largely thanks to Lionel Messi. Messi has transformed Miami from “a team that habitually lost for years,” as head coach Tata Martino put it, into “a team that habitually wins,” potentially making them one of the best MLS teams ever.

In Wednesday’s game against the reigning MLS champions, the Columbus Crew, Messi scored two crucial goals. The first broke open a tight, scrappy match, while the second, a signature free kick just five minutes later, stunned both the Crew and the sold-out crowd. As Crew coach Wilfried Nancy said, “He had one-and-a-half opportunities, and he scored two.”

Messi’s two goals on Wednesday, his 16th and 17th of the MLS season in his 17th game, left the league’s top defense reeling and secured Miami a 3-2 victory. The win extended their lead at the top of the table to 10 points, a gap that teams like the Columbus Crew, FC Cincinnati, and LA Galaxy won’t be able to close in the final two weeks of the season.

This triumph earned Miami the Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the best regular-season team in MLS, though the league’s primary prize is the MLS Cup for playoff champions. Still, it marked Messi’s second trophy with Miami and the 46th of his historic career—more than any other player in professional soccer history. Ironically, it’s the one trophy they weren’t expected to win. Before the season, only two out of 14 pundits predicted Miami would claim it, expecting Messi to miss games and prioritize the playoffs. But Miami’s roster, built by sporting director Chris Henderson, proved capable of winning without Messi. In fact, the team averaged more points per game without him (2.13) than with him (2.11).

Despite being stronger with Messi, Miami found ways to win in his absence. While Messi was away for Copa América or sidelined with an injury, the team won eight out of nine matches. This was possible thanks to key signings like Federico Redondo, Diego Gómez, and goalkeeper Drake Callender, who made a crucial penalty save in the 83rd minute of Wednesday’s match to seal the Shield. With this victory, Miami secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami claimed their first trophy of the 2024 MLS season, winning the Supporters’ Shield for accumulating the most points in the regular season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over reigning champions Columbus Crew.

Now sitting on 68 points with two games left, the Herons have the chance to break the MLS regular-season points record set by New England in 2021. If Miami wins both remaining games, they will finish with 74 points, surpassing New England’s 73-point tally from 34 games.

Though Messi missed significant time due to injury, Miami’s other stars stepped up to secure their first trophy of the season. With two games left, Messi and Luis Suárez have combined for 35 goals and 21 assists. Both South American players found the net in Miami’s victory, with Messi scoring a brilliant free-kick to complete his brace and Suárez capitalizing on a goalkeeper mistake. Despite being reduced to 10 men after Rudy Camacho’s red card, Columbus fought back. However, Drake Callender’s crucial save on Cucho Hernández’s penalty preserved the win. With the Supporters’ Shield secured, Tata Martino’s team now shifts focus to their ultimate goal, the MLS Cup.