Messi, Ronaldo, Villa: Which player scored the most goals for club & country in each year? | OneFootball

Lionel Messi's record of 91 goals in a calendar year is one we cannot see being broken for at least another century.

The little genius achieved the feat back in 2012 and that outrageous number means he found the back of the net for Barcelona and Argentina at a rate of once every four days.

It really is one of the greatest sporting feats in history and the 91-goal masterpiece is also far from the only time Messi has topped the charts in terms of goals scored for club and country combined over the course of a full year.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar has done so on four separate occasions in the 21st century, the same number of times as fellow Ballon d'Or hoarder, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Transfermarkt have provided the numbers for the top dog in each of the 21 completed years since the turn of the millenium over on their official Instagram page.

So, let's take a look at them in all of their glory...

2000

Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan & Ukraine

Games: 50

Goals: 42

2001

Raul Gonzalez | Real Madrid & Spain

Games: 67

Goals: 46

2002

Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United & Holland

Games: 55

Goals: 36

2003

Ruud van Nistelrooy | Manchester United & Holland

Games: 58

Goals: 48

2004

Thierry Henry | Arsenal & France

Games: 66

Goals: 46

2005

Luca Toni | Fiorentina & Italy

Games: 50

Goals: 38

2006

David Villa | Valencia & Spain

Games: 57

Goals: 35

2007

Robbie Keane | Tottenham Hotspur & Republic of Ireland

Games: 58

Goals: 34

2008

David Villa | Valencia & Spain

Games: 58

Goals: 41

2009

David Villa | Valencia & Spain

Games: 54

Goals: 43

2010

Lionel Messi | Barcelona & Argentina

Games: 64

Goals: 60

2011

Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal

Games: 60

Goals: 60

2012

Lionel Messi | Barcelona & Argentina

Games: 69

Goals: 91

2013

Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal

Games: 59

Goals: 69

2014

Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal

Games: 60

Goals: 61

2015

Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid & Portugal

Games: 57

Goals: 57

2016

Lionel Messi | Barcelona & Argentina

Games: 62

Goals: 59

2017

Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur & England

Games: 52

Goals: 56

2018

Lionel Messi | Barcelona & Argentina

Games: 54

Goals: 51

2019

Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich & Poland

Games: 58

Goals: 54

2020

Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich & Poland

Games: 44

Goals: 47

Champions League 2021/22: Fixtures, Draw, Results, Odds, Scores And Everything You Need To Know

Until 2010, no player had scored 60 or more goals in a calendar year - and then Messi and Ronaldo happened.

The former has surpassed that mammoth number twice, while the latter produced the goods in three different 12-month periods.

Rather surprisingly, Villa is the only other player to take top spot on three or more occasions, which further highlights what an underrated legend of the sport he is.

Quiz: Can you name the footballer based on their Wikipedia page?

1 of 15

Who moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000?

Luis Enrique Luis Figo Javier Saviola Cristiano Ronaldo

Van Nistelrooy and Lewandowski are the other men to finish first multiple times, the iconic strikers both doing so twice.

Although, Lewandowski is almost nailed on to join the exclusive 'three or more club' after his superhuman-like goalscoring exploits in 2021.

next story previous story

by Taboola

Sponsored Links

You May Like

Here Are 23 of the Coolest Gifts for This 2021National Penny Gift Guide

Sportscasters Salaries Released, Viewers Are StunnedMoney Pop

No Offense, But These 2 Big Retailers Aren't The Cheapest Places To ShopMoneyWise.com

Most Americans With A Windows PC Didn't Know This (Do It Now)Safe Life Tips

If You Have Toenail Fungus Try This Tonight (Genius!)Fungus Eliminator

If You Need To Kill Time On Your Computer, You Have to Play this Vintage Game. No Install.Forge Of Empires

3 Toxic Foods For Dogs: The One Meat You Should Never Feed Your DogDr. Marty

This Game is So Beautiful. If You Have a Computer it's a Must-Have.Raid: Shadow Legends | Free Download

VW's Killer New Lineup Will Leave You BreathlessNew VWs | search ads

Related articles

Lionel Messi made Barcelona debut 18 years ago today - where are his teammates now?

List of players with the most Ballon d'Or nominations in history shows Ronaldo's greatness

Ranking the top 15 active international scorers by goals-per-game - Harry Kane now 1st

Danny Ryan

Interested in: Arsenal, Barcelona, Boxing

Danny Ryan is a Senior Writer and Boxing Lead at GiveMeSport. He's had the pleasure of interviewing the likes of Tyson Fury, Gary Lineker, Amir Khan, Lennox Lewis, Joe Root, David Haye, Frank Warren, Kell Brook & Joseph Parker. He once got Eoin Morgan to commentate on THAT Super Over and is an above average FIFA player.