There have been many football records broken in 2021 and altogether have made the game more interesting. Through heroic efforts, there are records to be broken, according to the saying. These records have been immortalized in glory and have stood the test of time.
These records were broken with phenomenal efforts. You can tell these players aren’t average players.
Some of these figures have been referred to as the Greatness of all time, and many have been considered legends. Here are the top 10 football records broken in 2021 that these legendary footballers set.
7th Record-breaking Ballon d’or
With his seventh Ballon d’Or victory, Lionel Messi has accomplished a record-breaking feat. A record-breaking year for club and country culminated on Monday night when Messi took home the award for best men’s footballer in the world.
By winning the Ballon d’Or at the France Federation event, Messi became the first player to be presented with the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time.
Lionel Messi had first broken the record when he won the award for the sixth time in 2019. Now, he already surpassed his only competitor Cristiano Ronaldo who has won only five Ballon d’Or.
| Player Name | No. of Ballon d’or Wins |
|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 7 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 |
| Johan Cruyff | 3 |
| Marco van Basten | 3 |
| Michel Platini | 3 |
| Franz Beckenbauer | 2 |
| Ronaldo | 2 |
| Alfredo Di Stefano | 2 |
| Kevin Keegan | 2 |
| Karl Heinz-Rummenigge | 2 |
Hattrick Record at Old Trafford
The Award-winning African player, Mohammed Salah, the Liverpool player and Egyptian record-breaker, scored three goals in a match against Man Utd, breaking Liverpool’s 1937 record set 85 years ago.
As Liverpool’s Salah netted three goals against Manchester United at Old Trafford, he became the second player ever to do so.
Moreso, Salah became the first Liverpool player to net three consecutive goals against Manchester United in three different matches. This is a feat that has never been accomplished in any competition.
49-year-old Bundesliga Record Broken
Robert Lewandowski, the Bayern Munich star, broke a 49-year-old Bundesliga record that had long appeared unbreakable.
Gerd Muller’s goal-scoring record, which was considered untouchable at one point, fell by the legs of Lewandowski in a thrashing win from Bayern Munich against Freiburg. The record entails the most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year; which was long held by Gerd Muller.
Robert Lewandowski broke the Bundesliga goal record with 41 goals in Bayern’s 5-2 win over Freiburg on Saturday. As Lewandowski scored the champs’ goal in the 90th minute, he set a new record and broke that of another Bayern legend from 1972.
Most Premier League Goals Scored By An African Player
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah now holds the record for most African goals in Premier League history. Against Man United, the Egypt international scored three goals, exceeding Didier Didier Drogba’s record.
After Salah broke this record, Drogba confessed he felt like crying.
As of right now, Salah has 107 goals in the English top-flight, surpassing Chelsea’s great Didier Drogba, who had 104. Salah reached the magnificent African scoring milestone in the EPL with 167 games under his belt.
Consider Reading: Who is The Most Decorated African Footballer Ever?
Most Long-range Goal Ever Scored
In January 2021, Newport County goalkeeper Tom King made history when he scored a goal by kicking a goal-kick into the opposite end of the net. The goal measured 96.01 meters (105 yards) long, the longest scoring range.
Asmir Begovic held the previous record for the longest wind-aided strike. The goal he scored was 91.9 meters long against Southampton.
Consider Reading: Goalkeepers Who Scored In The English Premier League.
20-0 Win Record
In their World Cup qualifying clash at Keepmoat Stadium, the England women’s national football team made history by tearing apart its opponent, Latvia, in a 20-0 win.
Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, Ellen White, and Beth Mead contributed four hat-tricks to Sarina Wiegman’s team’s record-breaking victory in Group D.
With this 20-0 win against Latvia, England women’s national team set a new record of winning with the highest number of goals in history. This is another one of the incredible Football records broken in 2021
In the same match, White became England’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Kelly Smith’s 46 goals.
Consider Reading: 10 Greatest Female Soccer Players In History
The Fastest Goal in a EURO Final
As soon as 56 seconds had passed, England’s Luke Shaw scored the fastest goal to be in a EURO final. The left-back smashed in the first goal of the match against Italy in the EURO 2020 final.
Wembley Stadium in London was the site of Shaw’s fastest European Championship goal. The 25-year-old defender broke Chus Pereda’s record with his goal 55 seconds into the match.
Chus Pereda had held the record for the fastest goal in a European Championship final. At the 1964 summit clash against the Soviet Union, Pereda set the record by putting his Spain ahead in just 5 minutes and 17 seconds.
Champions League’s Fastest 20-goal Scorer
In just his 14th Champions League appearance, Haaland scored his 20th Champions League goal. By this, he became the fastest player to reach the record of 20 goals.
Harry Kane was the first to achieve the milestone of 20 goals in 24 games. Haaland has now surpassed that mark in just 14 games.
Opta disclosed that Haaland is also the youngest player to score in six straight Champions League games, after becoming the fastest player to score 20 goals in the competition.
Consider Reading: The Greatest CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Games Of All Time [+ Video Highlights]
Leading Scorer in the History of UEFA EUROs Tournament
Ronaldo has his name on one of the most interesting football records broken in 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo emerged as the all-time leading scorer at the UEFA EURO (2020) held from 11 Jun 2021 – 11 Jul 2021. All five of his appearances at the tournament were outstanding.
As a result of his two goals against Hungary on Matchday 1, Ronaldo surpassed Michel Platini’s enduring record to become the highest goalscorer in the UEFA EURO tournament.
Also on Matchday 2 of the tournament, Portugal’s star striker found the net against Germany.
Furthermore, Cristiano Ronaldo set a new UEFA EURO record after scoring two goals against France on Matchday 3. Ronaldo now leads the all-time scoring list at UEFA EURO 2020 by 5 goals.
| Player Name | Number of Goals |
|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) | 14 |
| Michel Platini (France) | 9 |
| Alan Shearer (England) | 7 |
| Antoine Griezmann (France) | 7 |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) | 6 |
| Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands) | 6 |
| Wayne Rooney (England) | 6 |
| Thierry Henry (France) | 6 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden) | 6 |
| Nuno Gomes (Portugal) | 6 |
International Goalscorer with the Most Goals in History
It is rare to find players, including those who have talents, and who are also driven by such a deep desire to succeed, to improve, and to break record after record.
Just as you know, Cristiano Ronaldo is an extremely talented player with the latter traits. As of the time of his goal against the Republic of Ireland, Cristiano became the highest-scoring international player ever.
In an epic World Cup qualification game, he scored two goals in the dying minutes to help his side beat Ireland.
This brought his total goal tally for his country, Portugal, to 111 goals, the highest any player has ever reached for his country.
Further Reading:
- The Best International Footballers At Each Position Ever
- Messi vs Lewandowski: Why Messi Deserves the Ballon d’Or 2021 Award
- How is the Man of The Match Award Decided in Football?
- Ranked: 10 La Liga Top Scorers of All Time
- 3 Players Who Should have Won The Ballon d’Or Instead of Messi & Ronaldo
