MLS Golden Boot: Eight Players Who Could Win in 2025 | OneFootball

The 2024–25 MLS Golden Boot race was tight until the very end when former English Premier League star Christian Benteke ran away with the title and 23 goals.

Benteke is back for 2025 but is still on a D.C. United side that managed to miss the playoffs with the league’s hottest striker. As the new season rolls around, who could contend for the MLS Golden Boot in 2025?

Could it be Benteke again? Maybe Luis Suárez? Could it be MLS record signings Emmanuel Latte Lath and Kevin Dénkey? Will Lionel Messi turn out on top?

Here are eight contenders for the title this year.

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The Proven Ones

Christian Benteke - D.C. United

The reigning champion returns to D.C. United, a club that has not improved much of the creation around him.

Scoring most of his goals from the air, the former Crystal Palace striker is a threat in D.C.’s direct style of play. Yet, head coach Troy Lesesne’s team has not made many significant moves in attack besides bringing in Costa Rican international Randall Leal from Nashville SC.

Nine of Benteke’s goals came from headers in 2024, and the best MLS teams often played with the ball on the ground. That’s a total he’ll probably need to hit again to reach 23 or more in his hunt for the 2025 Golden Boot.

Luis Suárez - Inter Miami

Will Suárez play enough in 2025 to contend for the Golden Boot? / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

In 2024, Suárez pushed aside any doubts about his knees. He scored 20 goals, tied with Lionel Messi for Inter Miami's club lead.

Yet, Suárez's 2025 schedule will be more challenging. His club will compete in the FIFA Club World Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup, and the 38-year-old will have to maintain his health to contend in the MLS Cup playoffs.

Suárez has won Golden Boots in the Premier League and Eredivisie, and he’s proven good enough to contend for that title in MLS. The question, though, is how much will he play?

Lionel Messi - Inter Miami

Inter Miami's Lionel Messi is no stranger to surprises. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The amount of playing time will undoubtedly be the biggest question for Lionel Messi in 2025. It’s similar to Suarez, being a veteran player—he’s 37 now—and taking part in several top–tier competitions.

Still, though, he’s Messi, and he scored 20 goals and 16 assists in just 19 regular season matches last season. Averaged out over a full 34-game schedule, that would be 35 goals.

Given his congested schedule, the Argentine No. 10 won’t play much. Combined with his injury rate over the last several years, he’s likely a long shot to win the Golden Boot.

Then again, when has Messi cared about a long shot?

Denis Bouanga - LAFC

LAFC forward Denis Bouanga won the 2023 MLS Golden Boot with 20 goals. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

LAFC superstar Denis Bouanga has scored 41 goals in MLS and is coming off yet another 20-goal season in 2024. Why couldn’t the 2023 Golden Boot winner win it again?

While he will have to do it without the help of Kei Kamara or Mateusz Bogusz, who contributed a combined 13 assists in 2024, he will have 2018 World Cup winner Olivier Giroud with him in attack and former Columbus Crew SC winger Yaw Yeboah sending in chances from wide areas.

Mark Delgado, who joined from the 2024 MLS Cup Champion LA Galaxy, will also help, as will USMNT midfielder Timothy Tillman. Both posted seven assists in 2024.

Bouanga will get goals in MLS for LAFC. He’s the cornerstone of the club, but he would need a career-best season, previously winning the 2023 title with the same amount he scored in 2024: 20.

The New Guys

Emmanuel Latte Lath - Atlanta United

After spending $22 million to bring him in, Atlanta United will hope Latte Lath can at least be in the Golden Boot conversation in 2025.

The 26-year-old arrives in Atlanta after scoring 27 goals in 59 games for Middlesbrough in the English Championship and 14 in 31 games for St. Gallen in the Swiss first division. With the Five Stripes, he is seen as a savior, a player who can help make Mercedes-Benz Stadium the best atmosphere in MLS as it once was.

With Miguel Almirón, Alexey Miranchuk and Saba Lobjanidze complimenting his attacking efforts, a scoring title could be in the cards, especially if head coach Ronny Deila gets the team clicking quickly.

Kévin Denkey - FC Cincinnati

For a few weeks, FC Cincinnati's addition of Denkey was the MLS's record transfer, bringing him in for $16 million.

A Togo international, he comes to Cincy having led the Belgian Pro League with 34 goals over the last two seasons, only being outscored in Europe by Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyökeres, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and PSV’s Luuk de Jong.

Last season, he won the Pro League’s Golden Boot with 27 goals, eight more than any other player.

He’s a strong bet to win the Golden Boot, but it may come down to how the Luciano Acosta situation shakes out, given the No. 10 has been a vital piece to Cincinnati's attacking success.

The Dark Horses

Jordan Morris - Seattle Sounders FC

Seattle Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris had one of his best seasons in 2024. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The return of Jordan Morris’s scoring is one of the best stories in American soccer.

After struggling to score in the early parts of the 2024 campaign, the Seattle Sounders FC center forward hit a string of form, scoring eight goals in 10 matches in all competitions through the summer.

With 13 goals, he eclipsed his previous career high of 12, set in his 2016 rookie season. The American international added another to pull off the MLS Cup playoff upset over LAFC.

It’s been a formative offseason for the Sounders, bringing in Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola, two attacking standouts from FC Dallas, who combined for 13 assists last season. Adding them to a more mature Pedro de la Vega, Morris has every chance of going off this season.

Brian White - Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Brian White could be a contender for the 2025 MLS Golden Boot. / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

Brian White already has a goal in 2025, scoring for the USMNT in their January camp.

Yet, he’s quietly been one of the best MLS strikers over the last two seasons, netting 15 goals in both 2023 and 2024, often playing the finisher in a potent Whitecaps FC attacking duo alongside Scotland international Ryan Gauld.

He’ll be with a new coach in Jepser Sørensen, and things got more challenging with Stuart Armstrong’s departure, but he’s a sneaky pick to take the 2024 MLS Golden Boot.

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