The race for the 2025 MLS Golden Boot is coming down to the final matchday of the season, with Decision Day set to live up to its namesake. 

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi leads the race heading into the final matchday, having returned to the Herons amid international duty with Argentina to score a brace, lifting his total to 26 goals in a 4–0 win over Atlanta United. 

LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, who missed two matches due to representing Gabon in World Cup qualifying, sits two goals behind Messi on 24. Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge is on 23, but needs a hat trick and some help if he’s to claim the award.

As much as MLS Cup reigns as the primary goal for each, it’s clear there’s an unparalleled desire to capture the individual honor this season. For Messi, it would likely be enough to become the first back-to-back MLS Most Valuable Player—for Bouanga, it would make him just the sixth player in MLS history to win the honor twice. 

“I have one more chance with my teammates for the last match against Colorado, and I hope to win the Golden Boot for my son and my family,” Bouanga said after tying Messi at 24 goals in an LAFC win over Atlanta on Oct. 5. “As a personal goal, it would be to win the Golden Boot, and as for the team, win MLS Cup.”

Bouanga Leaning on Son

Son Heung-min - LAFC - Denis Bouanga
Denis Bouanga (left) and Son Heung-min (right) have formed an elite attacking partnership. | Shaun Clark/Getty Images

After a slow start to the season, a Golden Boot didn’t seem within the realm of possibility for Bouanga or any LAFC player in 2025.

But Los Angeles and Hollywood are no strangers to great comebacks and cinema, and maybe the 1986 cult-classic, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, offers a little advice for the Golden Boot race.

“Life moves pretty fast; if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” Bueller famously said in the film. 

Life, of course, brought Son Heung-min to LAFC on a league-record transfer fee, and the South Korean superstar has instantly created a stellar partnership alongside Bouanga. The two combined for 18 straight goals for LAFC. Since Son joined the team, Bouanga has scored 11 times. 

“Just shoot Denis, please. I know my body language made you pass the ball, but especially today, you have to shoot,” Son said of a chance where Bouanga attempted to pass the ball against Atlanta. “I love you, my brother, huge congratulations.”

Son, Bouanga and LAFC face the Colorado Rapids on Decision Day, and the Gabonese hero will hope he can score a hat trick against a side that has conceded 43 goals in 33 games this season. 

In 2023, Bouanga scored just 20 goals to capture the Golden Boot. 

Messi Battles Surridge

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi holds a significant advantage over Sam Surridge ahead of their Decision Day clash. | Mark Smith-Imagn Images

As Bouanga looks to score a hat trick at home, Messi hits the road with Miami and will come face-to-face with Surridge and Nashville SC at GEODIS Park.

Not only will the 38-year-old hope to add to his goal tally, but his defenders could ensure Surridge doesn’t come anywhere close with a stellar performance at the back; a unique twist to the final day of the season. 

And if there were any doubts whether he cared for the accolade or not, those were dashed when he stepped aside from international duty for just 24 hours, something not even teammate Rodrigo De Paul did—although De Paul and the Argentina squad showed up to cheer Messi on.

“He is a very special player, he’s an icon, and even though he didn’t train last week with us, we saw what he did today,” Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said after the win. “He has helped us to win; he managed to score. That for him was important.”

While the Golden Boot would cap off his stellar season, Messi has already broken several records in 2025, including becoming the first to have nine games with multiple goals in a single season. 

He is also up to 44 goal contributions, and is within a magnificent performance of catching Carlos Vela’s all-time MLS record of 49, set in 2019. 

After the Decision Day chaos settles, each of Inter Miami, LAFC and Nashville SC will look ahead to the first round best-of-three series in the MLS Cup Playoffs with eyes on the greatest prize in the American top flight.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bouanga, Messi, Surridge: MLS Golden Boot Race Heads for Dramatic Finish on Decision Day.