Barcelona forward Lionel Messi surpassed Gerd Mueller’s 40-year-old record with a La Liga double at Real Betis.
The 25-year-old Argentine star smashed the record of German legend Gerd Mueller of 85 goals in a calendar year against Betis on Sunday night. Messi has scored 74 goals for Barcelona and 12 goals for Argentina this year. In March, Messi also became Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer after surpassing the 232 official goals set by Cesar Rodriguez during the 1940s and 50s.
He still has two La Liga games and a King’s Cup match to extend his total for this year and if he keeps going at anything like his current rate his career scoring records are unlikely to be challenged for many, many years.
“I’ve said it a lot, it’s nice to beat records but the win for the team is what is important and the points difference at the top,” said Messi as Barcelona maintained their six-point lead over Atletico Madrid and 11-point gap on Real Madrid.
Barcelona also comfortably topped their Champions League group, and will find out who they will face in the second round of the competition on December 20 when the draw takes place in Nyon.
Messi, who became a father for the first time on Nov. 2 to a boy named Thiago, was announced as one of the three finalists for the FIFA world player of the year award along with teammate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
