Monday, 22nd October, 2012
Lionel Messi is closing in on a record set by Brazilian legend Pele in 1959.
Pele notched up 75 goals in a calendar year in 1959, while Messi’s hat-trick in Barcelona’s spectacular 5-4 victory over Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga at the weekend moved him up to 71 for 2012.
Messi now has two more months to score enough goals to overtake Pele and set a new record.
In 1959, Pele was at the peak of his powers and scored an astonishing 66 goals for Santos over the course of the 12 months, with a further nine for Brazil.
With Messi in such red hot form for club and country at present, the odds are heavily stacked in favour of him beating Pele’s long standing record and taking a further step towards being considered the greatest footballer of all time.
The Barcelona star also looks likely to win what would be a fourth consecutive Ballon d’Or.
relatedNewsStoryMessi leads the running for the 2012 edition, despite a strong lobby pushing for Cristiano Ronaldo to be honoured.
But Messi, who continues to break record after record, has powered Barcelona into an eight-point lead over Ronaldo’s Real Madrid in La Liga.
And his brilliance shows no sign of slowing down.
