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Throughout the history of the game, there have been numerous stellar performances by players for club and country. Often, these performances come in particular competitions and rarely extend to all competitions across the year.
Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup while Michel Platini netted nine times in the 1984 European Championships. Iker Casillas was phenomenal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as were Gianluigi Buffon at the 2006 edition and Jordan Pickford at Euro 2020. All three keepers kept five clean sheets at those respective events. These are some of the few such instances of tremendous individual performances at major tournaments.
Nevertheless, there have been a few players who have produced truly memorable performances throughout a calendar year. Some of them have even done so on multiple occasions. So without further ado, let's have a look at the five greatest single-year performances by a player in the history of the game:
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#5 Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) - 60 goals (2010)
Lionel Messi truly had a memorable year in 2010. The Argentine scored goals galore, especially in La Liga, where Barcelona were in the midst of a three-peat. Messi scored 25 league goals to help his club successfully defend their league title.
The 2009 Ballon d'Or winner also sizzled in continental competitions. After a brace against Stuttgart, Messi produced a four-goal salvo against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals. However, Barcelona were stopped by Inter Milan in the last four.
Messi endured an uncharacteristically poor campaign at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, failing to score in five games, though he assisted thrice. Nevertheless, he started the 2010-11 season on fire, netting 17 league goals to set Barcelona on their way to another La Liga title.
Overall, Messi scored 60 goals in 64 games during the year, winning the La Liga and Super Cup titles, and his second Ballon d'Or award.
#4 Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands) - 2019
Less than a year after arriving at Liverpool in 2018, Virgil van Dijk made his presence felt in the heart of the Reds' defense.
The Dutchman was a stellar performer in both the Premier League and the Champions League. Van Dijk was a rock in the Liverpool rearguard, tallying almost one tackle and interception per game. Impressively, he wasn't dribbled past even once as Liverpool fell short by a solitary point to Manchester City in the league. They then went on to beat Tottenham Hotspur to win their sixth Champions League title.
Van Dijk was on a tear as Liverpool emerged as the runaway leaders in the first half of the 2019-20 Premier League season. The Dutchman noticeably improved the Reds' defense as opponents found it difficult to score against Liverpool when Van Dijk was on the field.
Virgil van Dijk made a very compelling case to win the Ballon d'Or award that year before narrowly missing out to Lionel Messi. The Dutchman said:
"It was an amazing year, but there's a couple of players like that who are a bit unnatural. So you need to respect greatness as well. I was close, but there was just someone a little bit better. I'm very proud of what I achieved last year with Liverpool and the Netherlands, and hopefully we can do that again this year. But that will be tough with those guys around here still."
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal) - 61 goals (2014)
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best players to have ever played the game, had a memorable year for club and country in 2014.
Ronaldo scored goals galore, both in La Liga and the Champions League. Real Madrid won their much-awaited La Decima in the latter competition that year, with the Portuguese scoring eight times in the knockout round. This included a goal in the final as well.
That made Ronaldo the first player to score for two different winning teams in a Champions League final. He also became the first player to score 17 times in a single edition of the competition, a record that still stands.
Ronaldo started the 2014-15 season like a man possessed, netting a staggering 25 goals to set the pace for another record-breaking campaign. Thanks to Ronaldo's blistering exploits - 61 goals in 60 games - that year, Real Madrid won the Copa Del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup titles. The Portuguese also clinched his third Ballon d'Or award.
#2 Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany) - 85 goals (1972)
"Der Bomber" Gerd Muller produced one of the greatest single-year performances by any player in 1972.
He became the first player to breach the 40-goal mark in a Bundesliga season, a record that would stay intact for almost five decades. The Bayern Munich marksman then scored four times to help West Germany win their first European Championship.
Muller continued in the same vein in the first half of the 1972-73 season, scoring goals galore. He ended the year with a stunning tally of 85 goals for club and country. Muller narrowly missed out on the Ballon d'Or award that year, with his German and Bayern Munich teammate Franz Beckenbauer taking the award home.
Muller was at the peak of his powers that year, scoring goals seemingly for fun, against taller, well-built defenders.
#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina) - 91 goals (2012)
Lionel Messi produced arguably the best-ever single-year performance by any player in the history of the game when he scored a staggering 91 goals for club and country in 2012.
During the year, the Argentine became the first player to score 50 goals in a La Liga season, or for that matter, in any top-five league in the continent. But Real Madrid beat Barcelona to the league title. The Blaugrana, who were knocked out by eventual champions Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, had to be content with just the Copa Del Rey title.
Messi was imperious in the first half of the 2012-13 season too. He ended the year with more goals than Manchester United, PSG, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund. What's even more impressive is that Messi conjured this tally of 91 goals for the year in just 69 games!
During the year, the Argentine scored 79 goals for his club and 12 for Argentina. By doing so, he broke Gerd Muller's record of most goals (85 goals) by a player in a calendar year. Though Messi averaged a staggering 1.32 goals per game that year, it was a tad short of Muller's 1.42 (85 goals in 60 games).
Thanks to his exploits that year, Messi became the first player to win four consecutive Ballon d'Or awards.
