[h=2]Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored his 75th and 76th goals of 2012 against Mallorca on Sunday to eclipse Pele's record for goals in a calendar year.[/h]
Sixty-four of those were for Barca and 12 for Argentina and he is closing in on the record of 85 set by German Gerd Mueller in 1972 - Barcelona have nine more matches this year and Argentina two.
He bagged 50 goals in La Liga last season, smashing Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 40 from the previous campaign, and was top scorer in the Champions League for an unprecedented fourth straight edition.
The 25-year-old, who recently became a father for the first time, is favourite to claim a fourth consecutive World Player award when the winner is announced in January.
"Leo is constantly breaking records and his goal-scoring statistics are spectacular," Barca coach Tito Vilanova, who has known Messi since he was a teenager in the club's youth academy, said after the Mallorca match.
"There are great players who need seven or eight seasons to score the number of goals he scores in one campaign," he added.
"You also have to remember that some of them are genuine stunners."
This latest feat strengthens Messi's claims to be the equal of Pele, who is still generally considered the greatest player of all-time.
Pele has been slow to recognise Messi's achievements, pointing out that the Argentinian has yet to replicate his club form on the international stage.
Last year, Pele said: "Nobody did what Pele did. Being champion of the world at 17 years old, won three World Cups, scored more than 1,208 goals - only him! Then until now, nobody did this... to me, Pele is the best."
Here is Opta's analysis of Messi's goals scored in La Liga and the Champions League. It does not include his 12 goals for Argentina or his four in Spanish Cup competitions.
Sixty-four of those were for Barca and 12 for Argentina and he is closing in on the record of 85 set by German Gerd Mueller in 1972 - Barcelona have nine more matches this year and Argentina two.
He bagged 50 goals in La Liga last season, smashing Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 40 from the previous campaign, and was top scorer in the Champions League for an unprecedented fourth straight edition.
The 25-year-old, who recently became a father for the first time, is favourite to claim a fourth consecutive World Player award when the winner is announced in January.
"Leo is constantly breaking records and his goal-scoring statistics are spectacular," Barca coach Tito Vilanova, who has known Messi since he was a teenager in the club's youth academy, said after the Mallorca match.
"There are great players who need seven or eight seasons to score the number of goals he scores in one campaign," he added.
"You also have to remember that some of them are genuine stunners."
This latest feat strengthens Messi's claims to be the equal of Pele, who is still generally considered the greatest player of all-time.
Pele has been slow to recognise Messi's achievements, pointing out that the Argentinian has yet to replicate his club form on the international stage.
Last year, Pele said: "Nobody did what Pele did. Being champion of the world at 17 years old, won three World Cups, scored more than 1,208 goals - only him! Then until now, nobody did this... to me, Pele is the best."
Here is Opta's analysis of Messi's goals scored in La Liga and the Champions League. It does not include his 12 goals for Argentina or his four in Spanish Cup competitions.
