Scoring goals in football is a difficult task for many players. But some players over the years have made a habit of scoring goals for fun. Here are the players who scored the most goals in a calendar year.
Lionel Messi (91 goals in 2012)
Former Barcelona player Lionel Messi holds the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year. The left-footed wide forward had a record-breaking 79 goals at the club level at the completion of the 2012–13 campaign. Unexpectedly, Barcelona was forced to make do with the Copa del Rey and Supercopa Espana instead of winning the La Liga championship or the UEFA Champions League. In addition to his 13 goals in the UEFA Champions League and seven goals in other domestic competitions, Messi has scored 59 goals in La Liga. Lionel Messi (91) outperformed entire teams like Manchester United (85), PSG (86), Chelsea (87), and Dortmund in the 2012–13 season (88).
Gerd Muller (85 goals in 1972)
Before Messi shattered it in 2012, German icon Gerd Muller of Bayern Munich had held the record for the most goals scored in a single year for 40 long years, starting in 1972. In just 60 appearances, the prolific German striker scored 85 goals, 42 of which came in 65 Bundesliga games. During the 1971–1972 campaign, Bayern Munich won the championship as a result of Muller’s exceptional play.
Pele (75 goals in 1958)
Pele, one of the greatest footballers ever, was among the first attackers to demonstrate such goal-scoring prowess both at the club and international levels. The fact that he accomplished this achievement at the age of just 17 makes it even more astounding. Pele was the youngest player to ever win the FIFA World Cup in 1958, and he finished with six goals. He then scored 69 goals for his team, Santos.
Pele (72 goals in 1965)
Seven years later, Pele showed the world his goal scoring ability once again as he scored a massive tally of 72 goals in 1965.
Romario (72 goals in 2000)
Romario was yet another Brazilian who had dazzled everyone with his smooth dribbling skills and spectacular goal scoring. In 2000, when he scored 72 goals in a calendar year for Brazil and his club Vasco da Gama, he had his greatest year. Romario, Ronaldinho’s favourite player and Brazil’s fourth-highest goalscorer with 780 goals in 1000 games, is just behind Pele, Neymar Jr., and Ronaldo.
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