Forwards know that with goals come wins, and so the league’s top scorers will make an extra effort to find the back of the net.
Inter Miami, who return to league play sitting last in the Eastern Conference standings, will hope that Lionel Messi‘s explosion from the Leagues Cup will translate to MLS action. The Argentine scored 10 goals in seven matches to begin life in the United States, and everyone is expecting him to keep that pace up.
Messi would provide hope for a challenge to those topping the list, with a goal off the bench in his MLS debut against the New York Red Bulls, the first MLS goal of his career.
It’s been a down year for goal scorers in Major League Soccer, with Hany Mukhtar leading the league on just 13 goals through 24 matches. Aside from the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the league has seen its Golden Boot winner score at least 19 goals in each of the past 12 years.
While he’s not topping the goal scoring charts, Atlanta United youngster Thiago Almada is leading the league in goal contributions, having bagged nine goals and added another 13 assists. Those 22 combined goals and assists are top of the league, one above the aforementioned Mukhtar.
Another oddity also stands out. Philadelphia Union forward Daniel Gazdag has scored 10 goals this year, but only one is from open play, while the other nine have come from the penalty spot. It is a joint-record for most penalties by one player in an MLS season, while one more would break that mark and leave Gazdag alone at the top of the list.
MORE: Odds for Lionel Messi to score a goal in Inter Miami’s next match
MLS Top Scorers list for 2023 season
The Sporting News will be updating the table below during every matchday of the 2023 MLS season through to the final regular season matches on October 21, 2023.
Updated as of Wednesday, August 30, 2023.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hany Mukhtar | Nashville SC | 13 (4) | 8 | 26 | 2,116 |
| Luciano Acosta | FC Cincinnati | 13 (5) | 10 | 25 | 2,048 | |
| 3. | Denis Bouanga | LAFC | 12 (2) | 4 | 22 | 1,783 |
| Cristian Espinoza | SJ Earthquakes | 12 (4) | 7 | 24 | 2,154 | |
| Giorgos Giakoumakis | Atlanta United | 12 (0) | 1 | 20 | 2,048 | |
| 6. | Julian Carranza | Philadelphia | 11 (0) | 4 | 22 | 1,923 |
| 7. | Jesus Ferreira | FC Dallas | 10 (0) | 2 | 18 | 1,535 |
| Nicholas Gioacchini | St. Louis City | 10 (1) | 1 | 25 | 1,767 | |
| Alan Pulido | Sporting KC | 10 (3) | 3 | 21 | 1,614 | |
| Lucas Zelarayan | Columbus Crew | 10 (2) | 7 | 20 | 1,707 | |
| Daniel Gazdag | Philadelphia | 10 (9) | 9 | 23 | 1,980 | |
| Facundo Torres | Orlando City | 10 (5) | 4 | 23 | 1,861 | |
| Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders | 10 (0) | 1 | 19 | 1,299 | |
| Brian White | Vancouver | 10 (0) | 4 | 23 | 1,699 | |
| 15. | Amine Bassi | Houston Dynamo | 9 (6) | 3 | 21 | 1,478 |
| Thiago Almada | Atlanta United | 9 (1) | 13 | 24 | 2,139 | |
| Carlos Vela | LAFC | 9 (3) | 7 | 25 | 1,494 | |
| Ryan Gauld | Vancouver | 9 (3) | 8 | 23 | 1,786 |
There have been 963 goals scored in Major League Soccer across the 2023 season, including 33 own goals:
- Atlanta United (1): Juan Purata
- FC Cincinnati (2): Dominique Badji, Roman Celentano
- Charlotte FC (2): Kristijan Kahlina, Bill Tuiloma
- Chicago Fire (1): Maren Haile-Selassie
- Columbus Crew (1): Milos Degenek
- DC United (1): Brendan Hines-Ike
- FC Dallas (3): Paul Arriola, Sam Junqua, Nolan Norris
- Inter Miami (2): Christopher McVey, David Ruiz
- CF Montreal (1): Joel Waterman
- Nashville SC (1): Jack Maher
- New England Revolution (1): Andrew Farrell
- New York Red Bulls (2): Andres Reyes (x2)
- NYCFC (1): Richard Ledezma
- Orlando City SC (1): Robin Jansson
- Philadelphia Union (3): Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel, Oliver Mbazio
- Portland Timbers (3): Diego Chara, Larrys Mabiala, Zack McGraw
- Real Salt Lake (1): Justen Glad
- Seattle Sounders (2): Stefan Frei, Yeimar Gomez
- St. Louis City SC (1): Jake Nerwinski
- Toronto FC (2): Aime Mabika, Lucas MacNaughton
- Vancouver Whitecaps (1): Tristan Blackmon
Odds to win MLS Golden Boot 2023
Some sports books have installed Lionel Messi as the favorite to win the league’s Golden Boot award, which is truly incredible given Messi is starting on zero goals with just 11 games remaining in the league season.
Outside the Argentine sensation, current leader Hany Mukhtar sports the lowest odds, while the likes of Denis Bouanga and Georgios Giakoumakis are right behind.
Odds as of Monday, August 28, 2023.
| Lionel Messi |
Hany Mukhtar |
Georgios Giakoumakis |
Denis Bouanga |
Luciano Acosta |
Cristian Espinoza |
Jesus Ferreira |
Daniel Gazdag |
Alan Pulido |
|
| BetMGM (USA) |
+350 | +400 | +500 | +600 | +600 | +900 | +1600 | +2000 | +2200 |
| Dafabet (India) |
7.50 | 5.00 | 6.00 | 8.00 | 7.50 | 13.00 | 17.00 | — | 29.00 |
How many goals does Lionel Messi have in MLS?
Starting from zero with just 11 games remaining, Lionel Messi has a lot of catching up to do, but if Inter Miami are to make a historic run from the bottom of the Eastern Conference into a playoff position, they will need Messi to pour on the goals like he did in the Leagues Cup.
While Messi led Inter Miami to the Leagues Cup title with 10 goals in seven games, he has yet to play an MLS fixture. His league schedule will begin on August 26 when Inter Miami travel to face the New York Red Bulls.
Messi MLS goals in 2023
| Date | Match | Goals | Mins |
| Aug. 26 | at NY Red Bulls (W 0-2) |
1 | 30 |
| Aug. 30 | vs. Nashville SC (D 0-0) |
0 | 90 |
| Sep. 3 | at LAFC | ||
| Sep. 9 | vs. Sporting KC | ||
| Sep. 16 | at Atlanta United | ||
| Sep. 20 | vs. Toronto FC | ||
| Sep. 24 | at Orlando City | ||
| Sep. 30 | vs. NYCFC | ||
| Oct. 4 | at Chicago Fire | ||
| Oct. 7 | vs. FC Cincinnati | ||
| Oct. 21 | at Charlotte FC | ||
| TOTAL | W-D-L: 1-1-0 | 1 | 120 |
Past MLS Golden Boot Winners
Prior to 2005, Major League Soccer used a point system to award its Scoring Champion, but since 2005 they have awarded a more traditional Golden Boot for the league’s top scorer.
| Year | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Hany Mukhtar | Nashville SC | 23 |
| 2021 | Valentin Castellanos | NYCFC | 19 |
| 2020* | Diego Rossi | LAFC | 14 |
| 2019 | Carlos Vela | LAFC | 34 |
| 2018 | Josef Martinez | Atlanta United | 31 |
| 2017 | Nemanja Nikolic | Chicago Fire | 24 |
| 2016 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | NY Red Bulls | 24 |
| 2015 | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 22 |
| 2014 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | NY Red Bulls | 27 |
| 2013 | Camilo Sanvezzo | Vancouver | 22 |
| 2012 | Chris Wondolowski | SJ Earthquakes | 27 |
| 2011 | Dwayne De Rosario | D.C. United | 16 |
| 2010 | Chris Wondolowski | SJ Earthquakes | 18 |
| 2009 | Jeff Cunningham | FC Dallas | 17 |
| 2008 | Landon Donovan | LA Galaxy | 20 |
| 2007 | Luciano Emilio | D.C. United | 20 |
| 2006 | Jeff Cunningham | Real Salt Lake | 16 |
| 2005 | Taylor Twellman | NE Revolution | 17 |
*2020 MLS season was shortened to 23 matches due to COVID-19 pandemic