Lionel Messi has had numerous memorable Golden Boot battles previously – often with Cristiano Ronaldo – however he has a brand new rival now in Englishman Sam Surridge.
Surridge’s purpose for Nashville of their 2-1 defeat towards Cincinnati has taken him on to 21 objectives, two away from Inter Miami’s Messi within the battle to be MLS prime scorer.
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Nashille solely have 4 video games left of the 34-game common season (on which the Golden Boot is judged) – whereas Inter Miami, who took half within the Membership World Cup, have eight remaining.
A number of different gamers are shut on their tails too, together with 18-goal LAFC man Denis Bouanga.
Messi, 38, has scored 61 objectives in 74 video games for Inter Miami however has but to win the league’s Golden Boot.
He did win the Pichichi Trophy, La Liga’s prime scorer award, eight instances – and the European Shoe 5 instances although.
Most famously he hit 50 La Liga objectives in 2011–12.
In the meantime Surridge’s finest league goalscoring season was eight in League Two.
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Who’s Surridge?
Former England Below-21 striker Surridge, now 27, began his skilled profession with Bournemouth.
Loans adopted at native non-league sides Weymouth and Poole, League Two golf equipment Yeovil and Oldham after which Championship facet Swansea.
He then moved on to Stoke and Nottingham Forest on everlasting offers – and helped the latter into the Premier League in 2022-23.
“You bought to ask this man what number of completely different golf equipment he is performed for,”
“We do a factor in preseason the place we discuss our journey, and he spent the primary 5 minutes simply itemizing golf equipment that he is been at.”
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Nonetheless he was by no means probably the most prolific along with his eight League Two objectives in each 2017-18 (for Yeovil) and 2018-19 (for Oldham) his finest league hauls in England.
He netted as soon as within the Premier League in 20 matches for Forest earlier than making the transfer to the US for about £5m in 2023.
Surridge scored 12 objectives final season in MLS and has netted 21 this season.
His 43 objectives in whole for Nashville make him the membership’s second prime scorer ever. They have been based in 2016 and joined MLS in 2020.
He has zero European Golden Sneakers.
“Once you play towards males in, say, League Two, and it is not best whenever you’re going away and also you’re 19, 20 and you have to try to grind out a win, and it is moist and it is wet,” Surridge instructed the MLS web site this summer time.
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“I feel that was necessary for me, the place I realized that from a younger age, and it hopefully reveals now the place I’ve obtained that have of attempting to grind out wins, and it simply comes extra pure.
“It is undoubtedly a special pathway, I would say, to what numerous different gamers do. But it surely’s one which I feel has put me in good stead now. I’ve skilled a great deal of various kinds of soccer.”
Who else has gained the MLS Golden Boot?
Surridge would turn into the second Englishman to be the highest scorer in MLS after Bradley Wright-Phillips, who prime scored in 2014 and 2016 for New York Crimson Bulls.
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Different earlier winners embody Landon Donovan, Sebastian Giovinco, Carlos Vela and Christian Benteke.
Ex-Aston Villa striker Benteke netted 23 objectives for DC United final season, with three gamers together with Messi and Luis Suarez on 20.