Football
Footballers with the Most Goals in a Calendar Year
The players on this list will forever be remembered for their incredible goal-scoring ability.
Lionel Messi// Getty Images
It is widely agreed upon that scoring is the most difficult job on a football pitch. That is the reason why attackers are some of the highest-paid players in the world.
Strikers who find the back of the net on a consistent basis are a very rare commodity. Fans and clubs are always on the lookout for the next top striker in world football. Every generation has only a few names that are remembered forever for their incredible ability. The players on this list fall into that category.
Join us as we take a walk down football history and look at the top 10 footballers with the most goals in a calendar year.
The Footballers with the Most Goals in a Calendar Year
| Rank | Player | Goals scored | Calendar year |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 91 | 2012 |
| 2 | Gerd Muller | 85 | 1972 |
| 3 | Pele | 75 | 1958 |
| 4 | Pele | 72 | 1965 |
| 5 | Zico | 72 | 1979 |
| 6 | Romario | 72 | 2000 |
| 7 | Robert Lewandowski | 69 | 2021 |
| 8 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 69 | 2013 |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 63 | 2012 |
| 10 | Viktor Gyokeres | 62 | 2024 |
10. Viktor Gyokeres - 62 goals (2024)
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 61 goals in 2014 held the 10th position until Viktor Gyokeres’s incredible 62-goal season for Sporting CP and Sweden in 2024. The Swedish striker was on fire in every competition he played, including Liga Portugal, UEFA Champions League, Nations League and even cup competitions.
He has also continued his form into 2025 and has been linked with every major club in Europe. At just 26 years old, he looks set to break some more goalscoring records in the near future.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo - 63 goals (2012)
Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest goal scorer in football history and is nearing an incredible 1000 goals in his career. This is thanks to incredibly consistent performances over the years. The Portuguese star scored 63 goals in 2012, 58 for Real Madrid and 5 for his national team. He also recorded 13 assists in the same year.
40 of his goals that year came in La Liga, 13 in the UCL and 3 in cup competitions, while on the international stage, he scored 3 goals in the 2012 Euros, 1 in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and 1 in International friendlies.
8. Cristiano Ronaldo - 69 goals (2013)
Ronaldo//Getty Images
Making his second appearance on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo has consistently found the back of the net for every club he has ever played for and in every league, he has featured in. He scored an incredible 69 goals (59 goals for Real Madrid and 10 for Portugal) in just 59 appearances during the 2013 calendar year.
He scored 38 goals in La Liga, 15 goals in the UCL and 6 in the domestic cups. Ronaldo also scored 7 goals in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and 3 in international friendly matches. On top of the 69 goals, he also recorded 15 assists for his teammates across all competitions.
7. Robert Lewandowski - 69 goals (2021)
Robert Lewandowski is one of the most consistent goal-scorers in modern football. Had circumstances gone his way, he would have a Ballon d’Or in his trophy cabinet. But that does not take away from his incredible year in 2021, where he scored 69 goals and assisted 13 goals in 59 matches. It was the third consecutive year in which he was European football’s highest goal scorer, hitting 54 in 2019 and 47 in 2020.
Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich win the FIFA Club World Cup and the Bundesliga in the same year. He also broke Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season in 2021.
6. Romario - 72 goals (2000)
Remembered for his silky dribbling ability and prolific goal-scoring, Romario is one of the best strikers in football history. He netted 72 goals in a year for Brazil and his club Vasco da Gama. He scored a total of 780 goals in 1000 games in his playing career.
5. Zico - 72 goals (1979)
Zico spent almost his full sporting career with the side from Rio de Janeiro, apart from the two seasons he spent in Italy with Udinese, between 1983 and 1985. The Brazilian star scored 72 goals in 1979. But according to Flamengo, he scored 89 goals in 1979 (81 for his club, 7 for Brazil and one in a friendly).
Adding to that, according to Bruno Lucena, from the Brazilian side's department responsible for studies and archives, "If Zico had played the full season – he was injured and was out for a couple of months – he would have certainly notched up more than 100 goals."
Zico once scored 4 goals from free kicks in a single match for Flamengo – his set-piece mastery earned him the nickname "The White Pele."
4. Pele - 72 goals (1965)
Edson Arantes Do Nascimento Pele of Brazil celebrates the victory//Getty Images
The man with three FIFA World Cups to his name is also fourth on the list of footballers with the most goals in a calendar year. Records suggest that Pele scored 72 goals in 53 games for club and country. He also helped his side Santos win the Brazilian top-flight title that year. He also scored 7 goals and won the Golden Boot during the 1964-65 Copa Libertadores.
3. Pele - 75 goals (1958)
In 1958, a 17-year-old Pele scored six goals in the FIFA World Cup. The winner against Wales, a hat-trick against France, and two goals in the final against Sweden, leading Brazil to their first World Cup title. He went on to win three FIFA World Cup titles in his career. He also ended the year with 75 goals to his name for club and country.
2. Gerd Muller - 85 goals (1972)
Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller is second on the list of footballers with the most goals in a calendar year. The 1970 Ballon d’Or winner won three European Cups, four German league titles and many cup trophies. He also won the FIFA World Cup and Euros with his national team.
Gerd Muller scored 85 goals in 60 games for club and country in 1972. He scored 34 goals in the Bundesliga, 6 in the DFB-Pokal, 8 in the Europa League and 5 in the Liga Pokal. He also scored 7 goals for his national team, Germany, helping them lift the 1972 Euro title.
In 2021, the Gerd Müller Trophy was introduced. It is an award given to the footballer who scores the most goals in a season.
Messi and Ronaldo are the only two players to score in three different decades of the Champions League (2000s, 2010s, 2020s), showing their unmatched longevity.
1. Lionel Messi - 91 goals (2012)
Lionel Messi/Getty Images
Just like the majority of records in football, the record for most goals in a calendar year is also held by Lionel Messi. The record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored over 850 goals in his career, making him the second-highest scorer in football history.
Messi scored an incredible 91 goals in the 2012 calendar year for club and country, 79 goals for FC Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. He scored 59 goals in La Liga, 13 in the UCL, 7 in Cup competitions, 5 in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and 7 in international friendlies.
However, the Zambian Football Association did claim that Godfrey Chitalu had scored over 100 goals for club and country in 1972. FIFA rejected the plea on the basis that it was not possible for them to certify Chitalu's record due to a "lack of database".
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