Lionel Messi is magician, a wizard, a maestro. Pick whatever word you want to describe Barcelona's striker, it really doesn't matter which one. They all apply. It of course helps to have one of the most talented groups of players ever assembled behind you, but when it comes down to it, Messi still has to put the ball in the net.
Messi’s Magical Season Continues With 48th Goal
With his goal late in the first half of Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal victory over Shaktar Donetsk, Messi set the new Barcelona single-season goal scoring record at 48, breaking the mark of 47 set by Ronaldo in the 1996-97 season.
Becoming the single-season goal leader at Barcelona is impressive on it’s own, but to really put this record in perspective, let’s look at the greatest single-season goal scoring performances of all time:
66 - Ferenc Deák in 1948-49 with Ferencváros
56 - Gyula Zsengellér in 1938-39 with Újpest
55 - Mário Jardel in 2001-02 with Sporting Clube de Portugal
Fred Roberts in 1931-32 with Glentoran
53 - Henrik Larsson in 2000-01 with Celtic F.C
52 - William MacFadyen in 1932-33 with Motherwell
50 - Jimmy McGrory in 1935-36 with Celtic
Joe Bambrick in 1929-30 with Linfield
49 - Luis Alberto Suárez in 2009-2010 with Ajax
48 - Lionel Messi in 2009-2010 with Barcelona
Messi’s strike today places him in tenth place in the recorded history of the game...not just at Barcelona, in the entire game. Think about that for minute. A lot of people have played soccer and of all the players over all the years, only nine have scored more goals in a season than Messi. That’s impressive.
Say what you want about the increased number of matches and the differences in the game, closing in 50 goals in a season is damn impressive...and Messi still has at least 10 matches left this season to add to his remarkable total.
It seems almost like a fore gone conclusion that he’ll break 50, but the question now becomes how many more can he get? 66 seems out of reach, but surpassing Zsengellér’s total of 56 isn’t completely far fetched, though eight goals in ten game is a lot to ask, even from Messi.
No matter what the magical Argentinians’ goal total is at the close of the season, there is no denying we’ve been witness to something quite special. Not bad for a 23-year old.
Here’s the breakdown on Messi’s 48 goals this season: 29 (La Liga), 9 (UCL), 7 (Copa del Rey) and 3 (Spanish Super Cup).
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