Even though Lionel Messi owns the books on goal scoring records, things are a bit different in 2013, with Cristiano Ronaldo so far leading all players from the top five leagues in Europe with 50 goals this season – 44 of them coming for Real Madrid and six more while playing for the national team.

Ronaldo needed 45 matches to reach this milestone, with plenty more matches left to play. He won’t reach the 91 Messi scored for Barcelona in 2012, but if Messi keeps on picking up small injuries that limit his playing time, the only threat to Ronaldo finishing as the top scorer of 2013 in all competitions is out of the way.

Ronaldo has scored five hat tricks on his way to the top of the charts with, four of them coming for Real Madrid in matches against Sevilla, Getafe, Galatasaray and Celta Vigo. His fifth hat trick came in a win over Northern Ireland, making Ronaldo second on the all-time list for Portugal with 43 goals, four behind Pauleta, a record he will surely break pretty soon.