Every new year, many of us set resolutions—usually along the lines of cutting back on drinking, going to the gym more often or saving up for a vacation.
For soccer players, especially forwards, however, the target never changes: score as many goals as possible.
Some meet the mark, some fall short and others completely blow it out of the water—none more so than these players, who shattered expectations with record-breaking goal tallies.
Here, we take a look at the players with the most goals scored in a single calendar year in soccer history.
Most Goals in a Calendar Year: Lionel Messi’s Record
As is often the case with soccer records, it is Lionel Messi who holds the benchmark for the most goals scored in a single calendar year.
In 2012, he produced an extraordinary 91 goals for both FC Barcelona (79) and Argentina (12). The Argentine icon only made 69 appearances that year, averaging a goal every 66 minutes he was on the pitch. Messi recorded as many braces as he did games without a single goal (22).
Unsurprisingly, those otherworldly numbers earned the then-25 the Ballon d’Or (then awarded based on calendar-year showing rather than the current season format), but ironically, despite his record-breaking goal haul, Barcelona ended the year with just the Copa del Rey, missing out on La Liga, the Supercopa de España and the Champions League.
Other Highest Goalscoring Calendar Years in Soccer History
Messi’s record-breaking 91 goals in 2012 surpassed the previous benchmark set by Gerd Müller in 1972, when the German striker scored 85 goals for Bayern Munich and West Germany combined.
It should also be noted that in the same year as Müller’s tally, the Zambian Football Association claimed that Godfrey Chitalu scored more than 100 goals for Kabwe Warriors and Zambia. However, FIFA has stated that it could not officially verify the figure due to a lack of reliable historical records and data from that era, meaning the total is not recognized in the official record books.
Elsewhere, Pelé sits third on the all-time standings with 75 goals, while fellow Brazilian legends Zico and Romário both feature with 72 goals each.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappé complete the modern elite bracket, while Viktor Gyökeres’ 62-goal return for Sporting CP and Sweden in 2024 narrowly misses out on the top tier.
Most Goals in a Calendar Year: Top 10 Players
| Rank | Player | Goals | Year | Club/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lionel Messi | 91 | 2012 | Barcelona/Argentina |
| 2. | Gerd Müller | 85 | 1972 | Bayern Munich/West Germany |
| 3. | Pelé | 75 | 1958 | Santos/Brazil |
| =4. | Pelé | 72 | 1965 | Santos/Brazil |
| =4. | Zico | 72 | 1979 | Flamengo/Brazil |
| =4. | Romário | 72 | 2000 | Vasco da Gama/Brazil |
| =7. | Robert Lewandowski | 69 | 2021 | Bayern Munich/Poland |
| =7. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 69 | 2013 | Real Madrid/Portugal |
| 9. | Kylian Mbappé | 66 | 2025 | Real Madrid/France |
| 10. | Cristiano Ronaldo | 63 | 2012 | Real Madrid/Portugal |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The 10 Players With the Most Goals in a Calendar Year—Ranked.
