Harry Kane took his chance on Boxing Day as the Tottenham star finished 2017 as the year's top goal scorer in Europe.
Kane headed into last Saturday's Premier League clash against Burnley at Turf Moor four goals behind Lionel Messi, who starred in Barcelona's 3-0 El Clasico victory with a goal and an assist against Real Madrid at Bernabeu earlier in the day.
Messi's effort in Madrid saw him move on to 54 goals for club and country (excluding friendlies) in 2017, but Kane's hat-trick in the 3-0 win over Burnley took him to 53 for the calendar year.
That treble put Kane level on 53 goals with Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG forward Edinson Cavani, but ahead of the trio by virtue of a superior goals to games ratio.
- 56 | Harry Kane (52, 1.08)
- 54 | Lionel Messi | (63 games, 0.84 goals per game)
- 53 | Robert Lewandowski (55, 0/96)
- 53 | Cristiano Ronaldo (59, 0.89)
- 53 | Edinson Cavani (62, 0.85)
That also meant Kane was the only player capable of beating Messi's total before the end of the year, with Lewandowski, Cavani and Ronaldo having already played their final games of the season.
And Kane took less than a half to ensure he will finish above Messi, with the Spurs striker heading home on Boxing Day against Southampton to move level with the Argentine's 54 goals, but in 12 fewer games.
He made sure of top spot by finishing again from close range in the first half, before completing his hat-trick after the break to move two clear of Messi for the year.
Kane also broke Alan Shearer's Premier League record for 37 goals in a calendar year, having already matched the Newcastle United legend's 36 strikes set back in 1995 for Blackburn Rovers.
