The Year Football Glitched: When Lionel Messi Scored 91 Goals in 2012
Let’s be honest, football has had its share of cheat code moments. Roberto Carlos bending physics with a free-kick. Zlatan doing karate with a ball. But in 2012, Lionel Messi didn’t just bend the rules of the game, he straight-up broke them, crushed the remains, and walked off with a world record 91 goals in a single calendar year.
Yeah, 91. In twelve months. Not over a long career. Not across multiple seasons. In just one glorious, jaw-dropping, stat-stretching, GOAT-defining year.
Welcome to Messi’s 2012, the footballing equivalent of putting the game on easy mode.
The Breakdown- Messi’s 2012 in Numbers
- Total goals: 91
- For Barcelona: 79
- For Argentina: 12
- Previous record: 85 (by Gerd Müller, 1972)
- Messi’s record: Untouchable, unrepeatable, and still unbeaten.
How Did He Do It?
Messi wasn’t just scoring goals. He was manufacturing moments, like an overworked Marvel character, assist here, dribble there, bang one past the keeper, repeat.
His 91 goals came in 69 appearances. That’s a goal every 0.76 games, or, to make it more terrifying: a goal every 1.1 days.
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His toolkit:
- 59 with the left foot
- 13 with the right
- 7 headers
- 2 free-kicks
- And an army of helpless goalkeepers who probably still have nightmares.
Club or Country? Try Both
Messi didn’t take breaks. While most players picked up injuries or dipped in form, he just kept scoring like it was a daily chore. Whether it was La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League, or Argentina friendlies, the man was on fire 24/7.
His best month?
March 2012- 13 goals in 7 games. That’s more than some strikers manage in a season.
Was This Peak Messi?
Some say it was 2011. Others will argue 2015. But numbers don’t lie, 2012 was peak stat-padding Messi, and he did it while still dropping assists, pressing high, and embarrassing defenders every week.
You didn’t just watch Messi in 2012.
You felt him.
He turned matches into exhibitions. Fans into believers. And defenders into part-time memes.
Will This Ever Be Broken?
Short answer? No.
Long answer? Absolutely, positively no.
- Modern football has more rotation, rest, and (unfortunately) injuries.
- Most top players don’t even get enough games to try hitting 91.
- And let’s be real- scoring 91 in one year is not just difficult, it’s borderline illegal.
The Aftermath
That 2012 campaign didn’t win Messi the Champions League or World Cup, but it won him something else: immortality. He was awarded his 4th Ballon d’Or in January 2013, and even CR7 fans had to sit that one out quietly.
Final Whistle
Messi’s 2012 wasn’t just a year. It was a moment in time where football stopped being fair. Defenders were trying. Goalkeepers were diving. And still, it wasn’t enough.
It was football, but on God Mode.
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