Ranking the Top 5 Goal scorers in 2018 (Calendar Year) so far

#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

Goals Scored - 44

For the man who has the record for the most goals in a calendar year, it is no surprise that Lionel Messi is at the top of this list once again. The Argentinean has reached some phenomenal numbers over the years, and has scored more than 40 goals every year since 2009. Last year, Messi recorded 54 goals and 16 assists for club and country, from 64 games.

Messi started off 2018 with 8 goals from his first 7 games in La Liga and Copa del Rey. From January until the end of the season, Messi notched up 26 goals from 29 games. This included 19 goals from 19 games in La Liga, 4 goals from 6 games in Copa Del Rey and 3 goals from 4 games in the Champions League.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup finished as a disappointment for Messi, as Argentina were knocked out in the round of 16 by eventual champions France and the magician could only score 1 goal.

However, the new season has seen the Argentinean return hungrier than ever and he has already scored 14 goals from 13 games so far, even though he has missed 5 games with a forearm fracture! Messi has scored 9 goals from 10 games in the La Liga and 5 goals in 2 games in the Champions League. He has also scored 4 goals in 2018 for Argentina, from 5 games.

As such, Messi is currently on 44 goals and 16 assists from 47 games and is deservedly the top scorer in the 2018 calendar year so far.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5 million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

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Edited by Moderator -PJ