The world's top scorers have truly made an impact in 2025. Kylian Mbappe performed so well that he is now even among the top ten most successful goalscorers for club and national team for the calendar year. Harry Kane was an equally outstanding player, but with his 60 goals in 2025 he narrowly missed out on the leaderboard.
10th place: Cristiano Ronaldo (2012) – 63 goals
It's actually absurd that CR7, who scored 63 goals in 2012, was “only” the second highest scorer that year. But more on that later.
📸 JAVIER SORIANO – AFP 2012
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9th place: Kylian Mbappe (2025) – 66 goals
It's been a long time since a player reached such heights. The Frenchman has now equaled his idol CR7 and equaled his club record of 59 goals for Real Madrid in a calendar year. In addition, he scored seven goals for France. Thanks to this, Mbappe entered the top ten.
7th place: Cristiano Ronaldo (2013) / Robert Lewandowski (2021) – 69 goals
Prime Minister Cristiano Ronaldo scored six more goals in 2013 than the year before to win his second of five Ballon d'Ors. The Ballon d'Or eluded Robert Lewandowski during the most successful period of his career. In 2021, Leva tore everything apart.
📸 Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno – Getty Images, 2017
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4th place: Romario (2000), Zico (1979) and Pele (1965) – 72 goals
The Wooden Medal can be shared by three of the greatest Brazilians of all time. Each in different generations. It is noteworthy that at the time of the most successful year, Romario was already 34 years old.
3rd place: Pele (1958) – 75 goals
Pele held this record for 14 years before it was surpassed by the German legend. In 1958, the Brazilian, as a teenager, won the World Cup and scored for Santos as if on an assembly line.
2nd place: Gerd Müller (1972) – 85 goals
The “Bomber of the Nation” replaced Pele as the record holder. His best run lasted an incredible 40 years and was effectively considered eternal.
📸 STAFF
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1st place: Lionel Messi (2012) – 91 goals
If it was already difficult to imagine how Müller's record could ever be broken, then given Lionel Messi's most successful 2012, it is simply inconceivable that this number could ever be surpassed. Thirteen years ago, La Pulga played as if from another planet. He himself never tires of emphasizing that personal statistics have never been so important to him.
This article has been translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 Angel Martinez – Getty Images, 2025
