Lionel Messi Becomes 1st Player with 3 40-Goal Seasons in La Liga

FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored his 39th and 40th goals of the La Liga season during Saturday's 8-0 trouncing of Cordoba, becoming the first player in La Liga history with three seasons of 40-plus goals, per ESPN's Paul Carr.

While forward Luis Suarez stole the show with a hat-trick and an assist, the 27-year-old Messi had a rather exciting match of his own, with the brace coming on a match-high eight shots and supplemented by an assist.

Of course, it didn't take long for Messi to have some company in the 40-goal club, as Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Sevilla just hours later, bringing his own total to a league-high 42 goals for the season.

This is also the third 40-goal La Liga effort of Ronaldo's career, and he and Messi account for all six such seasons in league history.

Messi now has 51 goals in all competitions for Barcelona this season, while Ronaldo has 53 for Madrid.

Messi's all-time La Liga record of 50 goals (2011-12) appears to be safe, as Ronaldo would need eight goals in Madrid's final three games to match the mark.

Most important of all, Barcelona sit two points ahead of Madrid atop the La Liga table, with both teams having three matches left to play.