5 Players With the Most Hattricks in Football History As Ronaldo Leaves Messi Behind

Isaac Darko

updated at August 26, 2023 at 7:23 AM

• Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hattrick for Al-Nassr against Al-Fateh on Friday night
• The Portuguese icon also produced an insane assist in that game
• Here are the footballers who have scored the most hattricks in their football careers

Scoring goals is the ultimate of football. Football fans and some coaches believe that impregnable defence wins trophies, but in the end, the beautiful game is all about hitting the back of the net.

In fact, the unmixed scenes of fans, players and coaches jubilating and the excitement that is on display after the goal is scored are monumental.

It is always a difficult task for one player to score notch a hat-trick in a game. Simply put, it is something that is not what every player is capable of.

It takes ruthless and lethal players to be able to consistently bag three goals or more in a match. It is even more impressive for the player to achieve that feat repeatedly for a long period of time.

Ancelotti says football calendar going 'over the limit'

Football

Sports Brief assesses the footballers who have scored the most hattricks in their football careers.

Pele - 92 hattricks

Brazilian legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, has netted 92 hat-tricks in football, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

It's quite difficult to acknowledge records of the past, as most of them are not clear, but Pele's has been certified by the most reliable record-keeping source.

Pele, who played most of his football for Santos in Brazil, is widely considered as one of the greatest footballers to ever grace the game.

The Samba icon is the only footballer to have won more World Cups, having clinched three with Brazil.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 62 hattricks

Many fans believe Cristiano Ronaldo's career has declined, but the 62 hattricks the 38-year-old has recorded is no easy feat.

Ronaldo bagged three goals and recorded his 62nd career hattrick on Friday, August 25, during Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Fateh in the Saudi Pro League.

Arsenal's young loanee's form in France asks Arteta important question

Football

Impressively, the Portuguese icon scored 30 hattricks before he turned 30 years old – and made it 31 after the age of 30.

Ronaldo actually started developing into one of the lethal footballers after joining Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2003. He scored his first hattrick for United against Newcastle in 2008.

He was instrumental as the Red Devils won the 2008 Champions League title. He won the FIFA Player of the Year that year, becoming the first and only player in the Premier League to do so.

After joining Real Madrid in 2009, Real Madrid, Ronaldo was crowned his second Ballon d'Or in 2013. He notched his first hattrick for Madrid in May 2010 against RCD Mallorca.

After winning three consecutive Champions League titles with the Los Blancos, Ronaldo joined Juventus after the 2018 World Cup. He later returned to Old Trafford in 2021 and is currently playing his trade in the Middle East.

Tributes and reactions to Varane's international retirement at 29

Football

Lionel Messi - 56 hattrikcs

Lionel Messi has amassed incredible 56 hattricks in his illustrious career. His first came for Barcelona against their arch-rivals Real Madrid in a 3-3 draw at Camp Nou in March 2007.

After that match, the Argentina genius introduced himself to the football world. In fact, only six players have bagged two hattricks in EL Classico and with no doubt, Messi is the one.

In his professional career, going back to 2004, the Argentina captain has scored 56 hattricks, with 8 coming in the UEFA Champions League. He notched 3 hattricks in the domestic leagues and 6 in international games.

Having already won seven Ballon d'Ors, which is a record, Messi helped Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for the first time in 36 years.

Robert Lewandowski - 30 hattricks

The FC Barcelona forward gets better with age, just like a fine wine.

Lack of jobs for black managers 'troubles' Vieira

Football

After scoring his maiden hattrick for Barcelona against Viktoria Plzen in September last year, Lewandowski became the first player to hit Champions League trebles for three different sides.

In the Bundesliga last year, while playing for Bayern Munich, it took the Poland captain just nine minutes to score five goals against VfL Wolfsburg.

The former Dortmund forward is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, hitting scored over 500 goals for club and country.

Lewandowski has won numerous honours including the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and ten Bundesliga titles.

Luis Suarez - 30 hattricks

Luis Suarez is the star striker of the Uruguayan national soccer team who went on to play for Ajax and Liverpool before he joined the Spanish giants FC Barcelona.

He has since played for Atletico Madrid and returned to his boyhood club in Uruguay.

He came into prominence for all the wrong reasons including biting Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini, during a world cup match in 2014 and many more controversial incidents.

In photos: How Al Nassr 'spoiled' Ronaldo on his 38th birthday, receiving a royal treatment

Football

However, he is still considered to be one of the best strikers in the world and has been the European Top Scorer and winner of the ‘Golden Boot’ award twice.

Breakdown of Ronaldo's 500 goals

Cristiano's goal-scoring heroics has seen him notch over 300 league goals during his nine-year stint with Real Madrid while also crossing the 100-goal mark at Man United.

He also contributed 81 league goals at Juventus, three at Sporting Lisbon and now has two for Al-Nassr, Sports Brief earlier reported.

He bagged four goals and recorded his 61st career hattrick on Thursday during Al Nassr’s match against Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League.