Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks by an active footballer, with 61 hat-tricks during his trophy-laden career.

Ronaldo, who has the most headed goals in the 21st century among his innumerable records, registered the first hat-trick of his senior career in Manchester United’s 6-0 win against Newcastle United in 2008 while his last came in the Red Devils' 3-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur in their recent Premier League encounter

In a Portugal shirt, Cristiano's last hat-trick came in Portugal’s 5-0 win against Luxembourg in a World Cup 2022 qualifying game. His triple strike was his 10th hat-trick for the national team and he became the first player to score 10 hat-tricks in international football.

Furthermore, Cristiano Ronaldo is also the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup. At 33 years and 130 days, the Portugal skipper scored thrice to help his side draw 3-3 against Spain.

Lionel Messi is second on this list with 56 hat-tricks. The Paris Saint-Germain star and Argentina captain notched his maiden hat-trick in a 2007 El Clasico fixture against Real Madrid, which ended in a 3-3 draw.

Additionally, Messi is the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League game with his effort coming in Barcelona’s 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

Poland forward Robert Lewandowski is third on the list for most hat-tricks by an active footballer. The goal machine has scored 30 hat-tricks in his career and is followed by Lionel Messi’s former strike partner Luis Suarez at 29.

Lewandowski netted five hat-tricks in 2021 for Bayern Munich with four of them coming in the Bundesliga.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Erling Haaland complete our list for most hat-tricks by an active footballer.

Most hat-tricks by an active footballer

Players Total hat-tricks
Cristiano Ronaldo 61
Lionel Messi 56
Robert Lewandowski 30
Luis Suarez 29
Zlatan Ibrahimovic 17
Erling Haaland 16
Harry Kane 15
Kylian Mbappe 14

 

Author: William Paul

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Featured photo: AFP / DANIEL LEAL 

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