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Lionel Messi's exceptional summer saw the Argentine play in his third World Cup final while rewriting the tournament's record book yet again.
It's put him right back into the Ballon d'Or discussion, though the evaluation period ends at the end of the month. Players' performances are measured from August 1, 2025 through July 31, 2026.
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But will voters overlook Messi's status as a player outside of the top European leagues? He won one of his eight Ballons d'Or as an MLS player but had spent a lot of time with Paris Saint-Germain.
And he will not be adding to his below-posted gaudy totals before the end of the evaluation period.
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FIFA issued a statement saying that they'd agreed with FIFPro, the group representing soccer players, that players would get a minimum of 21 days rest between the end of their World Cup and their return to club football.
Messi's Argentina lost the 2026 World Cup Final on July 19, 2026.
That takes Messi out of the picture for the following games:
- Inter Miami vs Chicago on Wednesday
- Inter Miami at Montreal on Saturday
- Inter Miami vs Columbus on August 1
- Inter Miami vs San Luis on August 5 (Leagues Cup)
- Inter Miami vs Monterrey on August 8 (Leagues Cup)
Their first game after the 21-day period is home to Club Leon on August 12, and the Herons then play a pair of away MLS matches versus Nashville (Aug. 15) and Philadelphia (Aug. 19). The next home match is August 22.
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Messi turned 39 last month and has appeared in the most World Cup matches of any player (34). He's joined by Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to appear in six World Cup tournaments.
His 21 World Cup goals trail only Kylian Mbappe and his 12 assists are the most of any player in history.
Messi's scored 13 times with seven assists in 16 games across all competitions for Inter Miami in this MLS season, and his contributions to Miami from Aug. 1, 2025 through the MLS Cup Final are even more absurd.
The Argentine played in 10 regular season MLS games after August 1 of last season, scoring 11 goals and adding nine assists. He also had two goals in three Leagues Cup games before going off in the MLS Cup Playoffs to the tune of six goals and seven assists in six games.
Five goals and three assists in six other caps means his haul for the Ballon d'Or evaluation period stands at:
- Argentina: 14 caps, 13 goals, seven assists
- Inter Miami: 35 matches, 32 goals, 23 assists
- Total: 49 games, 45 goals, 30 assists
