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Finding the back of the net is arguably the toughest task in football. Some players, however, manage to make the job look absurdly easy.
Devoid of nerves, they drift into dangerous areas and apply the finishing touch without a worry in the world. Today’s list is all about acknowledging the masters of goalscoring.
Below, we will take a look at five players who have netted hat-tricks in arguably the toughest leagues in the world, over and over again.
Here are five active goalscorers who have bagged the most hat-tricks in the top-five European leagues:
#5 Edinson Cavani – 12 hat-tricks
Edinson Cavani, 35, has enjoyed quite an eventful career. The Manchester United striker has played in three of the top-five European leagues, scoring a whopping 360 goals and winning six league titles.
Having enjoyed successful spells at Italian clubs Palermo and Napoli, he joined Paris Saint-Germain in the 2013-14 campaign. He arguably played the best football of his career at the French club. Alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cavani spearheaded PSG’s attack, helping the Parisians bag six Ligue 1 titles in seven seasons.
Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top-scorer is yet to score a hat-trick in the Premier League but has enjoyed astounding success in Serie A and Ligue 1. In Serie A, he scored seven hat-tricks, with all of them coming for Napoli. The Uruguayan sharpshooter scored the remaining five hat-tricks for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1.
His most memorable hat-trick in PSG colors came on matchday five of the 2016-17 campaign. He scored four goals to help the French giants to an emphatic 6-0 win over SM Caen.
#4 Luis Suarez – 16 hat-tricks
Over the last one-and-a-half decades, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated headlines around the world. Scoring goals and smashing records has been a walk in the park for them, making it almost impossible for other footballers to hog the limelight.
Former Barcelona ace Luis Suarez is arguably the only goalscorer to have outshone the duo with his sheer ability to find the back of the net. In the 2015-16 campaign, Suarez scored 40 goals in 35 La Liga appearances, winning the Pichichi as well the European Golden Boot.
Over the course of his career, Suarez has plied his trade in two top-five European leagues - the Premier League and La Liga. He scored 69 league goals for Liverpool, netting six hat-tricks in the process. Norwich City were his favorite team in the Premier League, with the Uruguayan scoring three hat-tricks against the Canaries.
His 10 remaining league hat-tricks came in La Liga during his six-year stay at Barcelona. Suarez’s most memorable three-goal haul came in the 2018-19 season when he helped Barca to a 5-1 win over their arch-rivals Real Madrid.
#3 Robert Lewandowski – 16 hat-tricks
Arguably the best player in the world at the moment, Robert Lewandowski makes goalscoring looks like child’s play. The Poland international is neither freakishly quick nor is he an outstanding dribbler.
He simply possesses instinctive finishing and a knack for being in the right place at the right time. The Bayern Munich striker has scored 29 goals in the Bundesliga this season, emerging as not only the league’s top scorer but also the frontrunner for the European Golden Boot.
As one would expect, a player of his caliber has scored his fair share of hat-tricks in the top-flight. Before joining Bayern, he was a diligent Borussia Dortmund striker.
He scored 74 times for BVB in the Bundesliga, registering two hat-tricks. The remaining 14 have come in Bayern Munich's colors.
#2 Lionel Messi – 36 hat-tricks
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi has dominated the sport like no one else. Over his 16-year-spell at Barcelona, the Argentine scored 672 goals, helping the Blaugrana to 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies amongst other honors.
Currently at Paris Saint-Germain, Messi has struggled to find the back of the net in Ligue 1, managing just two goals in 18 games.
Messi scored 48 career hat-tricks for Barcelona, 36 of which have come in La Liga. The last league hat-trick of his career came in a 5-0 win over Eibar in the 2020-21 campaign.
The 34-year-old has not yet registered a hat-trick for PSG, scoring only seven times in 26 games across all competitions.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo – 38 hat-tricks
Manchester United No.7 Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best goalscorer the game has ever seen. At his peak, he was lightning quick, could score from any angle, and had the stamina to keep charging at the opposition right until the final whistle.
He has lost speed and some sharpness at 37, but he is still capable of hitting the back of the net with commendable frequency.
On matchday 29 of the Premier League, Ronaldo scored a stunning hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. The treble marked the second hat-trick of his career in Manchester United’s colors, with the previous one coming against Newcastle United in 2008.
Out of his 36 remaining league hat-tricks, 34 came during his nine-season spell at Real Madrid. The other two came for Juventus in the Serie A.
