Lionel Messi's hat-trick in Barcelona's 5-4 tightrope walk of a win over Deportivo La Coruna has brought the forward closer to beating Pele and Gerd Mueller's all-time calendar marks of 75 and 85 goals respectively.

Messi has now scored 71 goals in 2012, meaning that by his standards he is only a couple of games away from surpassing Pele's 1959 tally of 75 for Santos and Brazil, Catalan daily El Mundo Deportivo pointed out Sunday on its website.