Top nine active players with most hat-tricks in football history

Scoring hat-tricks is tough for others but these players have made it look dangerously easy.

Hattricks are regarded as iconic moments in football, and scoring hattricks are always cherished. They are a difficult feat too, especially at the highest level when the pressure is huge and the defences are top-notch.

There are only a special calibre of players who are able to score multiple hat-tricks at the highest level, while hat-trick related records are some of the toughest to achieve. Such records require years of consistency at the top level, dedication, and a certain clinicality in front of the goal for years at the highest level.

Thus, as a celebration of such players, here are nine active footballers with the highest number of hat-tricks in their career:

9. Edinson Cavani (13 hattricks)

Edinson Cavani has had a long and distinguished career in European football. The Uruguayan moved to Palermo at the age of 20, where he impressed and was snapped up by Napoli. It is in Naples where he scored his 7 Serie A hattricks, also winning the Scudetto.

He then moved on to PSG, where he spent 7 years and became their record goalscorer, also scoring 5 hattricks for the Parisians. A move to Manchester United followed, where he became a cult hero despite not scoring a hattrick. His 13th hattrick came recently for his current club Boca Juniors.  

8. Kylian Mbappe (19 hattricks)

Kylian Mbappe has already score 19 hattricks by the age of just 25. The World Cup winner has scored 3 hattricks for Monaco, 13 for PSG and 3 more for the France National Team, including a stunning one in the 2022 World Cup final against Argentina, winning the player of the match award.

Mbappe’s hattricks have also come in crunch moments, such as his 2 hattricks against Barcelona in the Champions League knockouts, and multiple hattricks in the Coupes de France.

7. Neymar Jr (21 hattricks)

Neymar was one of the biggest names in world football at a point, with his time specially with Barcelona being memorable for his fans. The Brazilian also plied his trade for Santos and PSG either side of his time at Barcelona, moving to Al Hilal following his discontent at the French champions.

Despite never winning the Champions League or the Ballon d’Or, Neymar’s skilful playing style and deadly goalscoring made him one of the biggest names in world football, scoring 4 hattricks for Santos, 4 for his national team, 4 for Barcelona and the rest for PSG and in his time for Brazil’s underaged teams.

6. Erling Haaland (21 hattricks)

Erling Haaland has already surpassed Neymar Jr’s hattrick tally by the age of 23. The Manchester City superstar is a beast when running towards a defender, and clinical in front of the goal. His journey started for RB Salzburg, where he netted 5 hattricks, followed by 4 at Dortmund and 7 at City, including 4 goals against Wolves on Saturday.

He also has 1 hattrick for his national team too, and has a knack of coming into life for brief moments in a game, but making a huge impact overall.

5. Harry Kane (22 hattricks)

Harry Kane had been underrated for years, but his name has been firmly established as one of the deadliest finishers in Europe recently. Since his move to Bayern this summer, the Englishman has already scored 44 goals in 44 games for the Bavarians, alongside providing 11 assists. He has netted 4 hattricks already in his debut campaign in Germany.

The 30-year-old also has 8 hattricks in the Premier League, ranking 4th in the list of people with the most hattricks in English football. Kane has also scored multiple hattricks for his national team.

4. Robert Lewandowski (30 hattricks)

Robert Lewandowski has had a hugely illustrious career in European football. The Barcelona man scored his first hattrick for the club in a win over Valencia last month.

The Polish striker also has 18 hattricks for Bayern Munich, 3 for Dortmund, and 6 in the Champions League. Lewandowski had broken Gerd Muller’s record for most goals in a season by scoring 41 in the 2020-21 season, and has also been the Bundesliga topscorer in 7 seasons.

3. Luis Suarez (31 hattricks)

Luis Suarez might be a forgotten figure at this moment, but there was no striker who was completer and more terrifying than the Uruguayan at his peak. Suarez tore apart English football at Liverpool, scoring 6 hattricks in 3 years. This is after he had scored 9 hattricks for Ajax during his primitive years.

However, his peak was at Barcelona, where he formed an unstoppable partnership with Lionel Messi and Neymar, and scored 12 hattricks for the Catalans. He also has 2 hattricks for Uruguay, 1 for Gremio, and scored a hattrick for Inter Miami earlier this week.

2. Lionel Messi (57 hattricks)

Lionel Messi is one of the most complete players of all time. At his best during his years at Barcelona, he was simply unplayable no matter how good the opposition was. The Argentine has scored 57 hattricks in his career, averaging one every 18.5 games.

While he has slowed down the hattrick count in his recent years, Messi has 36 La Liga hattricks, 8 in the Champions League, and 9 for Argentina. While he hasn’t scored a hattrick either for PSG or Inter Miami, he’s still going strong at 37, providing assists, scoring goals and being the latter’s best player.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (66 hattricks)

While Messi might be a more complete player, Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtably one of the most complete goalscorers in the history of football. Ronaldo could dribble, take freekicks, score with either foot, be accurate with his head, and also score wonder goals, making him a goalscorer of the highest calibre.

The Portuguese star has 3 hattricks for Manchester United, 34 at his peak for Real Madrid, 8 in the Champions League, 4 for Al Nassr and 10 for his national team.

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