Players with the most goals in a calendar year, from Messi to CR7

Even though Lionel Messi defeated Robert Gul Lewandowski to win the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time, the Bayern Munich star remains unstoppable in the battle for the European Golden Shoe.

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Lewandowski of Bayern has scored 19 goals for a total of 38 goals in the German Bundesliga's 2021–2022 campaign. This season, the Polish striker is expected to successfully defend his European Golden Shoe title.

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Lewandowski scored his 69th goal of the year to draw even with Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Icon of Manchester United In 2013, Ronaldo scored 69 goals. The captain of Portugal, known as CR7, served as Real Madrid's main motivator at the time.

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Zico, a legendary Brazilian player, scored 72 goals in 1979. A former offensive midfielder for the Selecao, FC Goa now competes in the Indian Super League.

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Romario, a Brazilian attacker, scored 72 goals in 2000. In his career, the former Barcelona player claimed to have scored more than 1,000 goals.

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The legendary Pele was able to score up to 75 goals in one season, in 1958. In 1965, the Brazilian great scored 72 goals as well.

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Gerd Muller, the all-time leading scorer in the Bundesliga, scored once every 105 minutes in the top division of Germany. Muller, often known as Der Bomber, scored 85 goals in 1972.

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In 1972, while playing for Bayern Munich and Germany, Muller established the record. In 2012, Messi broke Muller's record by scoring a pair of goals for Barcelona against Real Betis in the first half.

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2012 was Messi's season of many goals.

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The former Barcelona captain scored 91 goals for both his nation and club (Argentina). Additionally, Messi was declared the 2012 Ballon d'Or champion.

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