German legend Gerd Muller has congratulated Barcelona forward Lionel Messi on breaking his record of goals scored in a calendar year.
Former striker Muller’s record of 85 goals – set in 1972 when playing for Bayern Munich and West Germany – was finally broken by Messi last night, who reached 86 with a double in Barca’s 2-1 victory at Real Betis.
“My record stood for 40 years, 85 goals in 60 games, and now the best player in the world has broken it, and I’m delighted for him,” the gracious 67-year-old told Sport1.de.
“He is an incredible player, gigantic. He’s such a nice and modest professional and I hope he gets one or two more goals in 2012 so that he can hold onto the record for the next 40 years. He has only one defect – and that is that he doesn’t play for Bayern Munich!”
