5 Footballers With Most Hat-Tricks in the 21st Century
- Cristiano Ronaldo leads the 21st-century hat-trick chart with over 60 trebles for club and country
- Lionel Messi follows closely, boasting more than 50 hat-tricks across domestic and international competitions
- Robert Lewandowski ranks among the top, dominating Bundesliga and Champions League defences with multiple hat-tricks
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Bagging a hat-trick is no easy feat, for some players, it remains an unfulfilled dream. Many top strikers go their entire careers without netting three in a single match.
Yet for legends like Cristiano Ronaldo, hitting hat-tricks has almost seemed like second nature, a hallmark of his remarkable career.
Source: Getty Images
Since his professional debut, he’s collected match balls countless times — and even in his late 30s, playing outside Europe, he keeps adding to his tally.
A true master of finishing, he stands among the most clinical strikers the game has ever seen.
Here, YEN.com.gh breaks down the 21 players with the most hat-tricks in the 21st century — a star-studded list packed with modern-day greats.
Luis Suárez – 30 Hat-Tricks
Often overshadowed at Barcelona by Lionel Messi’s brilliance, Luis Suárez remains one of football’s deadliest finishers.
Across spells with Ajax, Liverpool, and Barça, his mix of technical skill, killer instinct, and relentless desire to win produced 30 career hat-tricks. Now with Inter Miami in the MLS, time may be against him, but betting against the Uruguayan adding to his tally would be risky.
Robert Lewandowski – 33 Hat-Tricks
A master marksman, Robert Lewandowski shares the record for most Bundesliga hat-tricks in a single season (five) and has trebles in the Champions League for Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona.
With six more for Poland, he’s proven just as lethal on the international stage. Second only to Gerd Müller in Bundesliga scoring history, Lewandowski’s 312 league goals underline his extraordinary consistency.
Ali Ashfaq – 35 Hat-Tricks
A hidden gem in global football, Ali Ashfaq dominated scoring charts in the Maldives and beyond, finding the net more times than appearances at seven of his 13 clubs. His prolific streak carried into international football, where he struck 58 goals in 98 games for his country.
Lionel Messi – 59 Hat-Tricks
The man who scored 91 goals in a single calendar year comes second here, but 59 hat-tricks is still staggering—especially for a winger.
Now dazzling in MLS with Inter Miami, Messi has shown no signs of slowing down, bagging two hat-tricks in a week during the 2024/25 season. At 37, the magic is far from over.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 66 Hat-Tricks
Seven ahead of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo reigns supreme with 66 career hat-tricks, most during his Real Madrid days.
Football’s all-time leading scorer is still punishing defences at Al Nassr, even netting two trebles in four days recently. With his legendary fitness, few would be surprised if he adds plenty more well into his 40s.
Ronaldo scores hattrick in preseason
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Cristiano Ronaldo scored a stunning hat-trick to lead Al-Nassr to a 4-0 victory over Rio Ave in a pre-season friendly
Ronaldo unselfishly handed a penalty to Sadio Mane, who missed, but the Portuguese forward quickly made up for it with a header seconds later
Source: AFP
