I'm ex-Prem star who scored just 1 goal.. now I'm fighting Messi for Golden Boot

JUST three seasons ago, Sam Surridge was struggling to score in the Premier League.

Surridge lined up for Nottingham Forest , but scored just once in 20 Premier League games.

3 Sam Surridge has become a prolific goalscorer in MLS Credit: Getty

3 Surridge plays up top for Nashville Credit: Getty

However, Surridge is now competing head-to-head against arguably the greatest footballer of all time.

Surridge, who stars for Nashville in Major League Soccer , is narrowly ahead of Lionel Messi in the league's golden boot race.

Even the Slough-born star himself can hardly believe it.

Surridge's 21 goals for Nashville place him one in front of Messi's tally of 20.

Speaking to FourFourTwo , the 27-year-old said: "Being in a race with Messi is special for me. It is a bit surreal."

There are four games of the regular season left for Nashville, while Messi's Inter Miami have seven after competing in the Club World Cup .

Surridge is not worried about what the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner can do, and is focusing on his own performances in the race.

The former Bournemouth academy star got a close up of Messi's quality when Nashville faced Inter in July.

That game ended in a 2-1 defeat with Messi netting twice.

Reflecting on that, Surridge said: "They’re winners. They just have that cutting edge.

"There was a free-kick on the edge of the box, and I just knew that Messi was going to score, and he did.

"It was pretty crazy. He can make something out of nothing."

He continued: "Messi could end up scoring however many goals in a game, and I can’t control that.

"I focus on what I can do. It's also great that he's doing well because it's almost like me against him in a way, but there's still some others in the race to get the Golden Boot."

3 Lionel Messi has continued to excel for Inter Miami Credit: Getty