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When Was Lionel Messi's Best Season Ever?

Victor Fraile / Stringer

Published Jun 27, 2023

So, you're wondering when was Lionel Messi's best season? Let's talk about it!

Messi began his career in his home country of Argentina before joining renowned Spanish club Barcelona at the age of 13, when he came to their youth side. For the better part of two decades the Argentina star dominated European football.

The World Cup winner captured every major trophy imaginable after breaking into Barcelona's senior side, including various La Liga, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup triumphs.

Here, I'll break down Lionel Messi's best season, the 2011/2012 campaign when the South American set the world ablaze with his success for club and country.

Messi's Historic 2011/12 Season

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Messi and Barcelona became synonymous with one another during their tenure together from the early 2000's through 2021, when he left for Paris Saint-Germain.

The seven-time France Football Ballon d'Or winner finished his time in Spain with 10 seasons where he finished with 40 or more goals in all competitions.

His best season though? Messi scored 73 club goals in 2011/12, the most of any player in the history of football during a single campaign. Of those 73 goals, Messi managed to break the La Liga record (50), averaging over 1.26 goals per match.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Argentine's year was how clutch he was for Barcelona throughout the campaign. A football match can be broken down into six 15-minute increments. During that final period of minutes 76 through 90 - when a game becomes the most intense - Messi came up big.

The superstar finished the year with 19 goals during that period which helped Barca finish the La Liga season with a +85 goal difference. They cracked the 90-point barrier despite finishing second to Real Madrid.

That said, Messi didn't just show up on the club scene after balling out for Argentina throughout the year. In 2012, Messi scored 12 goals in nine international matches, including five goals during World Cup qualifying.

But let's face it, Messi's had many tremendous seasons throughout his legendary career, so there are certainly others we can look back on.

Honorable Mentions

2008-2009 season

Messi and Barcelona had a memorable campaign when they won a continental treble after capturing La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles. Not only did he finish as the top scorer in UCL, but he was also named La Liga Player of the Year. This all came during Pep Guardiola's first season as manager, when Messi had 38 goals and 19 assists for the Blaugrana.

2018-2019 season

It's not every year a player leads the league in goals, but Messi made that a regular occurrence throughout his Barca tenure. During this season, Messi scored 50 goals in all competitions, while finishing with 73 goal contributions.

It proved to be a special season for the Argentine after winning his 10th La Liga title in a year he was also named Barcelona captain.

2009-2010 season

It doesn't get any bigger than the Ballon d'Or as an individual achievement, and 2009 marked the first time Messi captured the trophy. Since then Messi's gone on to win six more Ballon d'Or awards, which is more than any other player in the history of the competition. The amazing thing about it is Messi was only 22-years-old at the time, which further encapsulated how promising a talent he was and went on to be.

Messi had 59 goal contributions in 53 games after leading La Liga and Champions League in goals that season.

2014-2015 season

The 2015 season proved to be another year where Messi and Co. captured a treble and the Argentina star contributed massively. Messi ended up with 89 goal contributions, as Barca went on to win La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey once again.

That season also included Messi's passing of Telmo Zarra's La Liga goals record. By the time Messi left the club, he finished with 474 goals in Spain's top flight.