Lionel Messi
Messi Is Already MLS’s Top Playmaker – But a Strange Rule Helps Pad His Numbers

Lionel Messi is now officially the best assist provider in football history. But during Inter Miami’s recent match against San Jose, he was credited with an assist that didn’t directly set up the goal — and yet, it wasn’t an error. It was MLS doing things the MLS way.

In Major League Soccer, "secondary assists" are counted as official assists. That means not only the final pass before a goal gets recorded, but also the pass before that — the pre-assist — if certain conditions are met.

Here’s how it works:

  • The opposing team must not change the direction of the ball in between passes.
  • There can’t be extra touches like dribbling or solo runs between the two passes.

If everything flows directly, both players get an assist in the official match stats.

That’s how Messi ended last season with 20 goals and 16 assists — including 6 secondary assists. These numbers are part of MLS's official records. But not everyone’s a fan. Sites like Transfermarkt, for example, don’t count secondary assists and list Messi’s stats in 2024 as just 20 goals and 10 assists.

And before anyone gets conspiratorial — this rule wasn’t invented for Leo. MLS has been recording secondary assists since at least 2018, long before Messi arrived. If anything, you could thank Zlatan Ibrahimović, who made his MLS debut that year.

Published by Patrick Jane
16.05.2025