FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has fallen further off the pace in the hunt to break his own world record of 91 goals in one calendar year.
Read: Ronaldo Overtakes Messi With Another Record
The Argentine finished 2012 with an unprecedented 91 goals in all competitions for club and country, and he looked on track to reach this mark in 2015 again.
In the beginning of February, Messi was three goals ahead of his world record year, but he had already lost important ground by the end of March.
By then he had fallen 10 goals behind the 30 strikes he reached during the first three months of his world record year. Now, one month later, the gap to Messi's milestone has opened to 13 goals.
Despite starting the year in a breath-taking manner, Messi reached 26 goals by the end of April - but he had already scored 39 times at the same stage in 2012.
With 23 league goals, the Argentine is currently just three goals behind his La Liga tally from 2012 and he has even scored one more goal in the Copa del Rey (three in 2015, two in 2012).
However, he has fallen drastically off the pace in the Champions League after drawing four consecutive blanks in the knockout stages.
In 2012, he scored an impressive eight goals in the Champions League up until this point and also added three strikes for Argentina.
But he started May with a brace on the weekend and only needs to score six more to equal his tally from May 2012.
In addition, Messi still has a chance to reach the Champions League final with Barcelona – something he failed to achieve in his record year.
Read: Messi Losing Ground On 91-Goal World Record
Another advantage for Messi is this year's Copa America, where he could play a potential six games with Argentina if they go all the way, while in 2012 there was no international competition for him and Argentina.
Do you think Lionel Messi will ever break his own world record again? Have your say in the comments section below.
