Football Records

Lionel Messi - His year in numbers.



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3. Only player to win the Ballon d'Or three years in a row. He is favourite to be named the winner again next month

4. Only player to be European Cup top scorer four years in a row

4. Most goals scored by a player in the Fifa Club World Cup, jointly held with Denilson

5. Only player to score five goals in a Champions League match, against Bayer Leverkusen

7. Number of minutes in which Messi has not scored in 2012 – the 1st, 2nd, 10th, 14th, 15th, 46th and 69th minutes

8. Most La Liga hat-tricks in one season by any player

10. Most consecutive La Liga matches scored in, record jointly held with (Brazilian) Ronaldo and Mariano Martín

10. Most goals scored by a player in the Spanish Super Cup

12. Most goals scored in a year by a player for Argentina, jointly held with Gabriel Batistuta

14. Most goals scored in a single European Cup season, shared with Jose Altafini of Milan in 1962-63

15. Most La Liga hat-tricks by a Barcelona player

15. Away league goals scored by Messi this season, more than every other La Liga club except Real Madrid

17. Most goals scored by a Barcelona player in El Clásico matches

17. Fastest hat-trick by a Barcelona player, 17 minutes against Mallorca

21. Most hat-tricks by a Barcelona player in all competitions

25. Most international goals (ie goals not scored in domestic club football) for club and country in a year, jointly held with Vivian Woodward

50. Most goals scored by a player in a La Liga season. Also won him the 2011-12 Golden Boot

56. League goals scored by Messi in 2012. Only five Premier League teams have scored more – Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton

56. Most goals scored in the Champions League by a Barcelona player

57. Most goals scored in European competition by a Barcelona player

63. Messi has scored one goal for every 63 minutes played in 2012 for club and country

72. Most club goals scored by a player in a single season, beating Archie Stark's previous best for Bethlehem Steel in the 1924-25 American Soccer League

74. Most club goals scored by a player in a calendar year

82. Most goals scored by a player in a single season for club and country

86. Most goals scored by a player in a calendar year for club and country, surpassing Gerd Müller for Bayern Munich and West Germany in 1972

91. Total goals scored by Messi in 2012, including five in friendlies for Barcelona

192. Most goals for a Barcelona player in La Liga, beating César Rodríguez Alvarez's 190

249. Wins by Messi out of 352 matches for Barcelona, 70.7% of his matches

283. Most goals by a Barcelona player in all competitions, beating César Rodríguez Alvarez's 232

5,405 Minutes of football played by Messi in 2012, equivalent to more than 60 completed matches

176,618 Followers of @MessiStats on Twitter, which has flagged up the majority of these records