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Mumbai · Sunday, 30 August 2026

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Poker at 39: Messi smashes four goals in Miami’s 7-1 win, sets more records

By Sohail Khan 30 August 2026, 9:20 am

Lionel Messi proved that age has done little to his magic on the ball. On Sunday, the 39-year-old Argentine superstar smashed a “poker” as Inter Miami routed CF Montreal 7-1 in the MLS.

His competitive spark hasn’t diminished yet, and Messi rolled back the years again as he relished a scintillating scoring spree of four goals, including two free-kick strikes, an assist and more records.

Casemiro opened the goal count for Miami in the 20th minute before the Messi storm blanketed the Montreal backline.

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Messi snapped a 1-1 tie in the 40th minute when he found the net for the 15th time, scoring off a free kick.

The reigning Golden Boot Award winner and league MVP scored for a 3-1 lead in the 52nd minute. His 17th and 18th goals of the season came in the 83rd and sixth minute of stoppage time with the final one also coming off a free kick. Messi began the day two behind Petar Musa of FC Dallas in the goals race.

WATCH: Messi’s fourth goal

 

TWO FREE KICK GOALS IN ONE GAME 🤯

Messi scores his FOURTH of the night as @InterMiamiCF seal it, 7-1 😤 pic.twitter.com/x2I0Qc4iBK

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 30, 2026

Luis Suárez scored his 11th goal with an assist from Messi — his 10th — for a 4-1 lead in the 80th minute and 18-year-old rookie Alexander Shaw made it 6-1 in the 89th with his first goal in three appearances and 37 minutes of play.

The night inevitably belonged to Messi who raised his professional goal tally to 927.

Hat-trick king

Messi’s hat-trick was the 62nd of his professional career and 51st in club colours. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (66) has recorded more among active players.

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It was also the ninth time in Messi’s pro career that he’s scored four or more goals in a match, with Ronaldo leading the all-time charts (11).

Most recorded free-kick goals (club and country)

Rank Player Direct Free Kick Goals Games Played
1 Marcelinho 78 782
2  Lionel Messi 74 1171
3  Roberto Dinamite 74 850
4  Juninho Pernambucano 72 907
5 Marcos Assuncao 68 661
6  Siniša Mihajlović 67 637
7 Cristiano Ronaldo 64 1333

Messi’s twin free-kicks also elevated him to the joint-second spot on the all-time charts for matches where records are available.

It has been an emotional few weeks for the Argentina talisman who powered his nation to the World Cup finals in July. Messi lost his father, Jorge, at the age of 68 in the city of Rosario, Argentina earlier this month.

In an emotional post later, Messi contemplated quitting from professional football.

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“Dad, I still can’t believe that you’ve gone. I don’t fall, or rather, I don’t want to fall. It’s very hard for me to imagine that I’m not going to see you anymore, that we’re not going to talk anymore. I know you were suffering and that it’s for the best, but you left too soon. We still had a lot left to enjoy together,” Messi had written on Instagram.

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