Top 5 unusual individual records in football

#3 Most consecutive hat-tricks — Masashi Nakayama

Hattricks are nothing but pure domination by the goal scorer. It shows how well a player manages to exploit the opposition and put up a stellar show. While Cristiano and Messi hold their respective hat-trick records, Japan's Masashi Nakayama holds the record for most consecutive hat-tricks.

Between 15th April 1998 to 29th April 1998, Masashi Nakayama scored four consecutive hat-tricks for his side, Jubilo Iwata. The former J1 League player smashed 16 goals in the process and holds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

He also holds the world record for the fastest hat-trick at international level. Nakayama achieved this feat against Brunei in the 2000 Asian Games qualifiers. He scored three goals within a span of three minutes and three seconds.

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#2 Defender with zero red cards — Philipp Lahm

How can a defender end his career without committing a cynical foul even once? Well, that's Philipp Lahm for you! With a highly decorated career spanning over 15 years, the German and Bayern Munich legend retired without getting sent-off even once.

Lahm was a technical player, a master tactician and one of the finest defenders the game has ever seen. He was known for his game-reading ability and timely tackles. Philipp Lahm was an inspiration for budding defenders and many pundits considered the former Germany captain the benchmark.

Lahm never believed in committing to the ball right away. He always drew the player close and struck at the right moment to dispossess his opponents. The same has helped the former Bayern full-back end his career without seeing a red card.

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#1 Player with zero yellow or red card — Gary Lineker

While you are in awe after learning of Phillip Lahm's record, let us take it up a notch higher and introduce you to Gary Lineker. The former Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Leicester City legend was never booked in 16 years of his career!

Being the epitome of fair play, the England international was honored with the FIFA Fairplay Award in 2000. Gary Lineker, one of England's most successful players, has scored 330 goals in his career. He is England's Hall of Fame inductee and currently serves as the honorary vice-president of Leicester City.

A respected gentleman on and outside the pitch, Lineker played a massive role in saving his former club Leicester City from bankruptcy.

This concludes our list of unusual records. Let us know which record amazed you the most in the comments section.