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Lionel Messi is picking apart MLS at a ridiculous rate

Lionel Messi scored two more goals Saturday night in Massachusetts. He nearly scored a third. He assisted Inter Miami's fourth. Nothing he did, by his own otherworldly standards, was all that remarkable — but Messi's numbers thus far in his first full Major League Soccer season are.

He has now scored nine times in six-and-a-half MLS games in 2024.

Toss in seven assists, per MLS' generous definition, and he's averaging 2.5 goal contributions per 90 minutes.

Which is quite absurd. Remember when Messi took America by storm last summer? It took him 731 minutes against MLS foes, between the Leagues Cup and regular season, to notch his 16th goal contribution.