Harry Kane scored twice against DR Congo to rescue England from a World Cup exit. Those two goals also pushed his 2025-26 total to 72 for club and country. That puts him on a very short list of players who have ever done anything like this.
Kane’s season included 36 Premier League goals in 31 games and 61 total for Bayern Munich before the World Cup. The England captain has at least one more game left to add to that number. But even if he stops right now, he’s already sitting alongside some of the most ridiculous scoring seasons of the 21st century.
Let’s break down where Kane fits among the top 10 goal-scoring seasons since 2000.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 2012-13: 59 goals
Ronaldo kicked off his run on this list with a tidy 59 goals. Every competition he played in for Real Madrid that season, he averaged exactly a goal per game. He scored 34 in the league as Madrid finished second, and added eight in the Champions League before the semifinals. A solid year by any standard, but just the beginning for him.
Robert Lewandowski, 2019-20: 60 goals
Lewandowski was unstoppable for Bayern Munich. He put up 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches and a ridiculous 15 in 10 Champions League games. That European run ended with Bayern lifting the trophy in Lisbon. He probably should have won the Ballon d’Or that season if the award hadn’t been canceled.
Luis Suarez, 2015-16: 60 goals
Suarez won the European Golden Shoe outright in 2015-16, and he was the only guy to break up the Messi-Ronaldo monopoly on that award between 2009 and 2019. He scored 40 league goals and assisted 18 more. Add in eight Champions League goals, five in the Club World Cup, and one against Brazil in World Cup qualifying. That’s a complete season.
Lionel Messi, 2014-15: 62 goals
Messi kicked off his appearances here with 62 goals. The bulk came from 43 in La Liga as Barcelona’s front three won a treble. He scored 10 in 13 Champions League games, including two against Bayern Munich in the semifinals.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 2013-14: 62 goals
Ronaldo went up a notch from 59 to 62 the next season. He had a goal-per-game or better ratio in both the league and Champions League. His 17 Champions League goals that season remain the single-season record. Real Madrid ended an 11-year wait for the trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 2014-15: 63 goals
Ronaldo’s best ever La Liga scoring season came in 2014-15 when he hit 48 goals in 35 games. That won him the Golden Boot, but Madrid finished second to Barcelona in the league. They reached the Champions League semifinals before Juventus knocked them out.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 2011-12: 63 goals
Ronaldo’s best overall season at Madrid. The team hit 100 points in the league, and he scored 46 goals in 38 games. He still finished second in the Golden Boot race to Messi. In the Champions League, he scored 10 in 10 before the semifinals.
Lionel Messi, 2012-13: 69 goals
Messi scored 46 league goals that season, blowing past Ronaldo’s 34. He added eight in the Champions League, four in the Copa del Rey, and two in the Supercopa. For Argentina, he bagged two hat-tricks, including one against Brazil.
Harry Kane, 2025-26: 72 goals
Kane’s 72 goals so far this season include 36 in the league and 61 for Bayern before the World Cup. He’s still got at least one more game to push that number higher. The question is whether he can catch the guy at number one.
Lionel Messi, 2011-12: 82 goals
This is the one that might never be touched. Messi scored 82 goals in the 2011-12 season alone. For context, he outscored all but six La Liga teams by himself. He had 14 goals in 11 Champions League games. Barcelona still didn’t win the league — Madrid took it with 100 points — but Pep Guardiola’s final season brought the Copa del Rey, Supercopa, UEFA Super Cup, and Club World Cup.
Kane’s 72 is incredible. It’s probably the best season by an English player ever. But Messi’s 82 remains a different kind of number. And Kane might be out of games to close the gap.
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