Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi has broken yet another record in a season that’s already seen him go down in the club’s record books for his goal-scoring abilities.
This time around, the Argentine has broken Gerd Muller’s record of scoring the most goals in a European season after netting a hat trick in Wednesday’s Liga match against Malaga at home at the Camp Nou.
The Germany legend established to previous record after netting 67 times in the 1972-73 campaign for Bayern Munich. That record stood almost 40 years until the Argentina international tallied his third goal in Catalunya to reach his 68th of the season.
A single goal in the 2-2 Spanish Supercopa draw against Real Madrid gave Messi his start toward this historic tally.
The Argentina international already broke Barca’s all-time official scoring record earlier in the campaign at the tender age of 24 with 8 years at the club. Messi also became the first player in the Champions League era to score five goals in a single match against Bayer Leverkusen on March 7, while joining Jose Altafini as the highest scorer in a single European Cup campaign with 14 strikes.
EUROPE’S TOP 10 GREATEST GOAL-SCORING SEASONS
| PLAYER | CLUB | GOALS | SEASON |
| Lionel Messi (Argentina) |
Barcelona |
68 | 2011-12 |
| Gerd Muller (West Germany) |
Bayern Munich |
67 |
1972-73 |
| Ferenc Deak (Hungary) |
Szentlorinc |
66 |
1945-46 |
| Gyula Zsengeller (Hungary) |
Ujpest |
65 |
1938-39 |
| Dixie Dean (England) |
Everton |
63 |
1927-28 |
| Jimmy McGrory (Scotland) |
Celtic |
62 |
1927-28 |
| Refik Resmja (Albania) |
Partizani Tirana |
59 |
1950-51 |
| Jimmy McGrory (Scotland) |
Celtic |
59 |
1926-27 |
| Fred Roberts (Ireland) |
Glentoran |
59 |
1930-31 |
| Ferenc Deak (Hungary) |
Ferencvarosi |
59 |
1948-49 |
The 24-year-old has netted 46 times in the Primera Division, 14 in the Champions League, three in the Spanish Supercup, twice in the Copa del Rey, twice in the Club World Cup, and once in the European Supercup.
Messi has three more opportunities to add to his tally this season, as Barca faces Espanyol, Betis and Athletic Bilbao (Copa del Rey) in the club’s last three games of the 2011-12 campaign.
