Messi scored 91 goals in the 2012 calendar year. The total combined his goals for Barcelona and Argentina across official competitions, establishing a record for the most goals scored by a footballer in a calendar year.
Messi scored 79 goals for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. He completed the record on 22 December 2012 by scoring twice against Real Valladolid. Those goals took him beyond Gerd Müller’s previous benchmark of 85 goals, set for West Germany and Bayern Munich in 1972.
The wording “calendar year” matters. Messi did not score 91 goals during a single league season or a single club campaign. The total spans the second half of the 2011–12 season and the first half of 2012–13, which is why it is often confused with his 73-goal total for Barcelona in the 2011–12 season.
Some unofficial tallies produce higher numbers by including friendlies, reserve matches or other non-competitive games. The widely recognised record figure is 91 official goals: 79 for Barcelona and 12 for Argentina. It remains one of the defining statistical achievements of Messi's career.