Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo - season by season comparison of their goal scoring records

6. 2011-12

The next season though, was all Lionel Messi, as he smashed in Gerd Muller’s old record for most goals scored in a calendar year (with 91) and created a season-high record that will surely stand the test of time. He took the art of the age-old tactic of ‘false nine’ to a whole new level transforming it into a goal-scoring strategy that bears little historical comparison. Despite Ronaldo raising his game even further to break the 60-goal-a-season barrier, Messi was simply untouchable on a personal level.

However, this was the season Real Madrid stepped up their collective game and Jose Mourinho finally found a way to break Barcelona’s stranglehold on La Liga, amassing a spectacular tally of 100 points (whilst scoring 121 goals) against Barcelona’s 91 (114 goals) and winning what would be their last La Liga title till date. The Champions League meanwhile was won by Roberto di Matteo’s inimtable “underdogs” of Chelsea.

Pichichi Award winner – Lionel Messi (50 – a record)

Champions League Golden Boot – Lionel Messi (14)

FIFA Ballon d’Or winner (2012) – Lionel Messi

GOAL TALLY

Lionel Messi: 73 in 60

Cristiano Ronaldo: 60 in 55