Lionel Messi wrote his name into the history books as he scored his 86th goal of the year to break Gerd Muller's record of most goals in a calendar year.
The Argentina international scored twice inside the opening half an hour of Barcelona's 2-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday to move ahead of Muller, who scored 85 goals during 1972.
Messi opened the scoring after 16 minutes to draw level with Muller, before moving clear of the prolific German nine minutes later after setting a new world record.
Messi sparked fears he would fall agonisingly short of Muller's landmark when he was stretchered off of Barcelona's Champions League match against Benfica in midweek after colliding with keeper Artur.
However, tests subsequently revealed Messi had only suffered bruising to his left knee and the 25-year-old was declared fit to line up in Seville, where he wasted no time in stamping his mark on the match.
"Muller's record is not an obsession for me," Messi said earlier this week. "It would be nice to break it, because the record has been there for many years. If it happens then good, but there is no problem if not."
The Argentina international scored twice inside the opening half an hour of Barcelona's 2-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday to move ahead of Muller, who scored 85 goals during 1972.
Messi opened the scoring after 16 minutes to draw level with Muller, before moving clear of the prolific German nine minutes later after setting a new world record.
Messi sparked fears he would fall agonisingly short of Muller's landmark when he was stretchered off of Barcelona's Champions League match against Benfica in midweek after colliding with keeper Artur.
However, tests subsequently revealed Messi had only suffered bruising to his left knee and the 25-year-old was declared fit to line up in Seville, where he wasted no time in stamping his mark on the match.
"Muller's record is not an obsession for me," Messi said earlier this week. "It would be nice to break it, because the record has been there for many years. If it happens then good, but there is no problem if not."
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