10 players with the most hat-tricks in the 21st century

There have been a plethora of prolific goalscorers who have graced the game since the turn of the century. While most of them are attackers or attacking midfielders, there have also been several goalscoring defenders.

Many of these players have been in the game for a long time, winning titles for club and country. Some of them are still going strong despite being on the wrong side of 30.

On that note, here's a look at the 10 players with the most hat-tricks for club and country in the 21st century. Without further ado, let's get started:

Note: All stats as per transfermarkt.

#10 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal/Gabon) - 12

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently scored a hat-trick in the EFL Cup.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang may not be in the best scoring form of his career at the moment. The Gabon international endured an underwhelming campaign last season.

Aubameyang scored just 10 league goals last campaign as the Gunners failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in more than two decades. Nevertheless, the 32-year-old did notch up his first Premier League hat-trick. That made Aubameyang one of a handful of players to score hat-tricks in three of Europe's top five leagues.

Aubameyang has scored just once in three league games this season. But he brought up another career hat-trick when he netted thrice in the EFL Cup against West Ham.

His only hat-trick in international football came against Niger in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying game.

#9 Edinson Cavani (Manchester United/Uruguay) - 15

Edinson Cavani joined Manchester United last summer.

Edinson Cavani remains one of the most lethal strikers in the game despite his apparent diminishing scoring prowess. The 34-year-old has scored over 350 goals in club football for four different clubs, with exactly 200 of them coming for PSG.

Despite being on the wrong side of 30, Cavani joined Manchester United last summer and enjoyed a relatively successful campaign. The Uruguayan scored 17 times in all competitions, helping United to the final of the Europa League and finishing second in the Premier League.

Cavani is yet to score a hat-trick for United, though. His only hat-trick for Uruguay came in a friendly against Indonesia in 2010.

His last hat-trick for club and country came in PSG's 9-0 Ligue 1 win over Guingamp in 2019.

#8 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England) - 15

Harry Kane has been a prolific scorer for club and country over the years. The Tottenham Hotspur striker has scored over 200 goals for the club, including 166 in the Premier League.

The 28-year-old is a three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner. He has scored 12 hat-tricks in club football (all for Tottenham) and three for England, for whom he has netted 41 times.

Kane recently scored four goals in England's run to the Euro 2020 final, where the Three Lions lost to Italy in a penalty shootout.

#7 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan/Sweden) - 17

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still going strong despite approaching 40.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most prolific scorers to have graced the game since the turn of the century.

The evergreen Swede - who turns 40 in a few weeks - has played for nine different clubs and won league titles in four different countries. Ibrahimovic recently notched up his 500th goal in club football.

Unsurprisingly, the veteran striker, who currently plays for AC Milan, has notched up quite a few hat-tricks for club and country. Ibrahimovic famously scored all four goals in Sweden's 4-2 friendly win over England in 2012. It was his second four-goal haul in international football.

Ibrahimovic's last hat-trick for club and country came for the Los Angeles Galaxy in an MLS game against Sporting KC in 2019.

#6 Sergio Aguero (Barcelona/Argentina) - 18

Sergio Aguero moved to Barcelona this summer.

Sergio Aguero has been a prolific scorer in the game since bursting onto the scene more than a decade ago.

The 33-year-old Argentine striker moved to Barcelona this summer after a goal-rich decade-long stint in the Premier League with Manchester City. Last year, Aguero, a five-time Premier League winner, broke Alan Shearer's record for most hat-tricks (11) in the competition.

In his last league game for the club a few weeks ago, Aguero became the most prolific Premier League scorer for a single club, breaking Wayne Rooney's record.

Considering his blistering exploits in club football, Aguero's lone hat-trick for Argentina came in a friendly against Bolivia more than six years ago.

#5 Mario Gomez (retired) - 18

Mario Gomez was a prolific scorer for club and country.

Mario Gomez is the only retired player on this list. The 36-year-old former Bayern Munich and Germany international was another prolific scorer for club and country.

Gomez is one of only two players to score ten Bundesliga hat-tricks and five hat-tricks in one season of the competition. In 2017, Gomez scored his tenth and final Bundesliga hat-trick while playing for Wolfsburg against Bayer Leverkusen. It was his first hat-trick in the German top-flight in seven years.

The now-retired player's only hat-trick in international football came way back in 2009 when Gomez netted four times in Germany's 7-2 friendly win over the UAE.

#4 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid/Uruguay) - 20

Luis Suarez has scored goals galore for club and country.

Luis Suarez has been a goal galore for club and country during a prolific nearly two-decade-long career.

The 34-year-old striker first made his name at Ajax before he replicated his exploits at Liverpool. After moving to Barcelona in the summer of 2014, the Uruguayan took things up a notch, scoring nearly 200 goals in his six-season stay at the club.

Suarez moved to Atletico Madrid last summer, and soon proved that Barcelona were wrong to let him go. He netted 21 league goals to help the Rojiblancos win their first La Liga title in seven years.

Luis Suarez has two international hat-tricks with Uruguay. He last netted a hat-trick for club or country in 2018 when he scored thrice in Barcelona's 5-1 La Liga win over Real Madrid.

#3 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Poland) - 27

Robert Lewandowski has scored goals galore for club and country.

Robert Lewandowski is one of the hottest strikers in the game at the moment. The 33-year-old Polish striker has amassed over 300 goals in just seven seasons at his current club Bayern Munich.

Last season, Lewandowski broke the late Gerd Muller's five-decade-old record of most goals (40) in a Bundesliga campaign. The Poland international has started this season strongly as well, netting a record-extending 15th Bundesliga hat-trick. He is already up to ten goals for the campaign.

Lewandowski is one of only two players to score multiple Champions League quadruples, and the only one to score four times in a semi-final. The Pole once netted five times in just nine minutes after coming off the bench in a Bundesliga game against Wolfsburg.

The all-time Poland top-scorer has scored six hat-tricks for his country, with his last coming in a 3-0 win over Latvia in a Euro 2020 qualifier.

#2 Lionel Messi (PSG/Argentina) - 55

Lionel Messi has been a standout performer for club and country.

Lionel Messi is arguably one of the best players to have graced the game. During an illustrious, nearly two-decade-long career, he has scored goals and won big titles for club and country.

The 34-year-old moved to PSG this summer after a 17-season stint with Barcelona, for whom Messi tallied almost 1100 goal contributions (672 goals, 305 assists).

Messi holds the record for most hat-tricks (36) in La Liga and for Argentina (6). His eight hat-tricks in the Champions League are the joint-most in the history of the competition.

Now at PSG, the Copa America 2021 winner scored a staggering 50th hat-trick for club and country in 2018.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal) - 57

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit the ground running at Manchester United.

Like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the finest players to have played the beautiful game.

During a career spanning almost two decades, the 36-year-old has scored over 650 goals in club football and a record 111 strikes in international football. Ronaldo has hit the ground running on his return to Manchester United for the first time in 12 years, scoring thrice in two games across competitions.

Ronaldo's rich haul of hat-tricks includes one for his current club Manchester United, 44 for Real Madrid, three for Juventus and nine for Portugal. His eight hat-tricks in the Champions League are the joint-most by any player in the competition's history.

His latest hat-trick for club or country came earlier this year when he netted thrice in Juventus' 3-1 Serie A win away at Cagliari Calcio.

About the author

Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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Edited by Aditya Singh