Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez are expected to score regularly for Inter Miami but will do well to get near Carlos Vela’s record.
The 2024 MLS season is about to get underway, with 29 teams across the United States full of renewed hope about what lies ahead. Columbus Crew will be out to defend the MLS Cup title they won last year, while derby duo LA Galaxy and LAFC will also hope to get themselves back in the mix. And now, of course, a new pretender has emerged in the form of Inter Miami, led by GOAT contender Lionel Messi and new signing Luis Suárez.
Who won the MLS Golden Boot in 2023?
The Herons duo will hope to be in the race for the MLS Golden Boot, won last year by Dénis Bouanga, who scored 20 times for LAFC but couldn’t quite lead them to a second successive MLS Cup victory. The Black and Gold reached the final game but lost 2-1 to the Crew in Ohio.
Given his achievements and standing in the sport, and the fact he is about to link back up with former Barcelona teammate Messi, Suárez will be expected to be a consistent scorer for Inter Miami, who are looking for him to fire them to their first MLS Cup in just their fifth year in the league. Could the Uruguayan even get close to - or indeed eclipse - the single-season goal record currently held by Mexican Carlos Vela?
Which players have scored most goals in a single MLS season?
Suárez, or anyone else for that matter, will do incredibly well to get anywhere near the tally set by Vela in his second season in MLS with LAFC. The former Arsenal player, who remains a free agent after his contract in Los Angeles expired at the end of the 2023 season, scored 34 goals and provided a further 15 assists in only 31 league matches.
Former Inter Miami striker Josef Martínez, who has just signed for The Herons’ Eastern Conference rivals CF Montreal, is the only other player who has broken the 30-goal barrier during the regular season while at Atlanta United in 2018. Could Suárez, or Messi, be next?