Messi closing in on Muller’s 85 goal record

There is no doubt who the man of the moment is in the Camp Nou Stadium: Leo Messi was this week nominated as one of the three candidates for what could be his third Balon d’Or award and tomorrow night will see him try to make more football history as Barcelona entertain Athletic Club Bilbao.

Messi has scored 82 goals in 2012 and is currently three behind the all-time record for goals in a calendar year, which was set by Gerd Muller in 1972. Recent games have seen Messi score his goals in pairs, with two against Levante last weekend, two goals against Spartak Moscow, two against Zaragoza and two in Mallorca closing him in on Muller’ s record in leaps and bounds.

Barca coach Tito Vilanova rested Messi in the Copa del Rey win 3-1 against Alaves in midweek, showing that the good of the team is more important than individual records, but with six games remaining in 2012, Messi looks odds on to set a new record.

A hat-trick against Athletic could see him equal it on tomorrow night and nobody is ruling that out, especially as the Basque side travel without injured full-back Andoni Iriola and have a less than impressive defensive record this season, having conceded 27 goals in 13 games.