Lionel Messi has become the standout player in MLS since joining in 2023. The Argentine quickly settled into Inter Miami, winning team titles and earning accolades like the 2025 MLS Golden Boot with 29 regular-season goals. In a surprising turn, Thomas Muller of the Vancouver Whitecaps has broken one of Messi’s key scoring records in just seven matches.
Muller’s transition into the league has been impressive; he has netted seven goals and provided three assists in just seven matches. This performance has made him the top player in the league for goals per 90 minutes, averaging 1.16 goals per game, slightly ahead of Messi’s 1.08 and Son Heung-min’s 1.00 for LAFC.
The 36-year-old German striker left Bayern Munich, where he played his entire career, to experience MLS. Despite initial doubts about his adaptation to the Canadian team, his performance in the last two months shows he has adjusted well.
Overall, Muller has played nine matches for the Whitecaps in all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing four assists, helping Vancouver advance in the Playoffs. In their first match against Dallas, he scored a penalty in a 3-0 win, and the team aims to secure their next round this Saturday, November 1st, in Game 2.
Muller surpasses Messi in another statistic
Muller’s goal-scoring success extends beyond his goals-per-90-minutes average; he has also outperformed Messi in penalty statistics. In his nine games with the Whitecaps, Muller has successfully converted six penalties from six attempts, while the Inter Miami captain has made four conversions from his 84 appearances.
Messi has taken five penalties for Inter Miami, missing just one in a 3-0 loss to Charlotte FC. However, looking at total career statistics, Messi maintains a significant edge:
- Messi: Scored 114 penalties, with 32 misses (across Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami, and Argentina).
- Muller: Scored 36 penalties, with eight misses (across Bayern Munich and Vancouver Whitecaps).
The difference in attempts is notable, but Muller was not usually the primary penalty taker in Germany. Now that he holds that role in MLS, his scoring numbers are likely to continue rising.