The highest number of goals Messi scored in a single La Liga season was 50. He reached that total for Barcelona in the 2011–12 season, scoring 50 times in 37 league appearances.
That campaign set a La Liga record for goals by an individual player in one season. Messi won the Pichichi Trophy as Spain’s leading league scorer and also claimed the European Golden Shoe. His closest rival that year was Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored 46 league goals.
The 50-goal total refers only to La Liga matches, not every competition. Messi scored 73 goals in all competitions during 2011–12, another extraordinary mark. Barcelona did not win the league that season—Real Madrid finished first—but Messi’s scoring campaign remains his personal La Liga peak. His later league totals included 46 goals in 2012–13 and 43 in 2014–15, both below the 50-goal benchmark.