Messi tops Ibrahimovic for most goals in all competitions in 2016

Only one player from Europe's top five leagues can claim to have scored more goals than Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016, and it's exactly who you'd expect.

Following Manchester United's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough on New Year's Eve, Lionel Messi ended 2016 as the calendar year's top scorer, boasting 51 goals across all competitions.

Having entered Saturday's match with 50 goals in 2016, Ibrahimovic appeared to have equalled Messi's tally in the first half, but his goal was chalked off for an apparent high foot by the referee, Lee Mason. The Swedish forward was unable to find the back of the net after that.

Messi and Ibrahimovic never took the pitch together in 2016, as Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain managed to avoid each other in the 2015-16 Champions League, while United failed to qualify for the 2016-17 Champions League.