Barcelona star Lionel Messi reaches 50 goals for sixth straight year

Lionel Messi reached 50 goals for the sixth consecutive calendar year by netting for Barcelona against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday.

The 32-year-old scored with a superb 20-yard curling strike in the 69th minute at Camp Nou as Barca moved closer to a key La Liga victory.

Messi's effort restored Barca's two-goal advantage after Alaves had responded to earlier strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Arturo Vidal with an effort of their own from Pere Pons.

Argentina forward Messi moved on to 50 goals from 58 matches for club and country in 2019. He has also provided 18 assists as part of a fine year that saw him win a record sixth Ballon d'Or.

Of Messi's 50 this year, 34 have arrived in 32 La Liga matches, with eight scored in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey. 

The remaining five came in matches for Argentina, for whom he has made 10 appearances this year.

Messi's extraordinary consistency has seen him score 50 or more in nine of the last 10 years, the only one in that span where he missed out being 2013, when he notched 45.

His best year came when he scored an astonishing 91 in 2012.