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#5 Lionel Messi breaks Gerd Muller's record for most goals in a calendar year (2012)
Lionel Messi had a banner year in 2012. Although major honours like the La Liga or the Champions League eluded him that year, Lionel Messi had a truly memorable year individually.
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He became the first player to breach the 50-goal barrier in a La Liga season earlier that year, and then went on to score a staggering 91 goals in only 69 games for club and country.
Unsurprisingly, most of those goals - 79 - came for Barcelona, as Lionel Messi went past Gerd Muller's four-decade old record of most goals (85) in a calendar year. The Argentinian scored 59 goals in the league, 13 in the Champions League, five in the Copa del Rey and two in the Super Copa in 2012.
#6 Winning four consecutive Ballon d'Or awards
From 2009 to 2012, Lionel Messi was the best player on the planet, winning the coveted Ballon d'Or award for four successive years.
To put that achievement into context, only Frenchman Michel Platini has ever done a Ballon d'Or three-peat, doing so from 1983 to 1985.
Lionel Messi completed his Ballon d'Or four-peat in 2012, scoring a record 91 goals in all competitions for club and country; quite incredibly, his club had only the Spanish Cup to show for his efforts that year.
#7 Lionel Messi hat-trick takes Argentina to the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Even going by their notorious penchant for inconsistency despite the riches at their disposal, Argentina had a shockingly indifferent qualifying campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, one that almost ended in disaster.
The two-time winners were in real danger of missing the quadrennial tournament going into their final qualifying match away to Ecuador after drawing their last three games to slump to sixth in the standings.
Argentina's worst fears came true when Ecuador opened the scoring after only 38 seconds in Quito. However, Lionel Messi came to the rescue of his nation.
Only 11 minutes later, the Argentina captain restored parity for his team before putting them into the lead as the Albiceleste led at the break.
At the hour mark, Lionel Messi calmed Argentine nerves by putting the result beyond doubt, producing a sumptuous chip at the hour-mark to seal his team's passage to the World Cup that summer in Russia.
Although Argentina had a forgettable outing in Russia, losing 3-4 to eventual champions France in the second round, their participation in the tournament itself was down to the singular brilliance of one man - the irrepresible Lionel Messi.
