The rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo has been something to behold for football fans around the world for years now. These two players will easily go down as two of the best players to play the game. But their intense rivalry has brought about continuous debates where fans have analyzed stats and compared the two against each other for more than a decade now. One of the hardest things to do in football as a striker is to score a hat-trick, but these two have done it in abundance, marking their prowess in the biggest sport in the world. We are going to take a look at some of the stats surrounding these great players and break down their hat-trick tallies to see who has more hat-tricks in this mesmerizing duel between the two.
The Total Count
When it comes to the total count, the stats don’t lie. Ronaldo edges the Argentinian magician by a few hat-tricks in the career all-time hat-trick count. Comprehensive and substantial data suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo has amassed a huge 66 hat-tricks during his time playing the beautiful game. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has registered 59 total career hat-tricks during his time playing. This would push Ronaldo out in front when it comes to career hat-tricks between the two and verify him as the winner in this particular stat.
There are some discrepancies in the data depending on your sources, but regardless of the source tally, it is clear to see the talent of these two. Indeed, many gamblers from around the world would be silly not to back these two when it comes to sports betting and scoring goals. For Malaysian players, using the best sports books in the country can offer great prices, promotions, and markets to place bets on when they think Messi or Ronaldo will score their next hat-trick to add to their impressive tally (Source: https://readwritemalaysia.com/betting-sites/).
Despite these two changing the way football has been played, there are some accounts of older players having a lot more hat-tricks during their career, but they unfortunately were playing at a time when unofficial sources and unofficial matches were more prominent. The likes of Pelé of Brazil and Erwin Helmchen of Germany have data behind them to suggest they have tallies that surpass those of both Ronaldo and Messi. Indeed, Pele was recognised by the Guinness World Records in 2023 for the most hat-tricks, cited as scoring 92 in his playing career, as well as being the youngest. However, other stats suggest Helmchen netted over 142 hat-tricks during his playing career. The differing sources depend on the precedent set by the statisticians, who vary their results concerning official match counts.
One thing is clear, though. Ronaldo is the winner when it comes to modern-day footballer hat-trick tallies.
Competition Breakdown
Despite there being a clear winner when it comes to the total tally, this stat is a bit more nuanced. If we look at breaking down the competition type, we will see there are some other interesting factors to consider.
If we take a look at the domestic league hat-tricks, then Ronaldo also edges this stat. He has amassed a total of 45 league hat-tricks over his career. Having scored only one hat-trick during his time at Manchester United, he achieved the vast majority of his domestic hat-tricks during his time at Real Madrid, with 34 hat-tricks for Los Blancos. The rest have come since he moved to the Saudi League. On the contrary, Messi holds the record for the most La Liga hat-tricks with 36, where he was scoring for fun during his time at Barcelona. Since his move to PSG and subsequently Inter Miami, Messi has not netted a hat-trick for his club.
As Messi holds the most hat-tricks out of the two in one of the top 5 leagues in the world, there are arguments that Messi has more valuable hat-tricks in his stats. Many will view Ronaldo's bolstering of his hat-trick count in the Saudi league as a bit of a stat-padding exercise, but this does minimise the Saudi league's competitiveness.
However, the argument that Messi's perhaps more valuable hat-tricks do hold up slightly when you take a look at both players' hat-trick stats across other competitions. The two are neck and neck when it comes to Champions League hat-tricks, both sharing the UEFA Champions League hat-trick record with 8 each. They both have 10 hat-tricks for their respective national teams and Messi edges with 4 hat-tricks in club cup competitions compared with Ronaldo's 3. This all suggests that at the most elite levels, Messi has managed to convert more hat-tricks during his playing time than Ronaldo, despite Ronaldo's overall tally surpassing that of Messi.
Whichever side you sit on and whatever argument you are looking to back, one thing is for sure - these two players have a jaw-dropping scoring record during their time playing.
Ratio Matters
Another stat that is worth having a look at is the efficiency of the two players. Perhaps one of Ronaldo's best features as a football player, aside from his gifted technical play, is his athletic prowess, which continues to shine now, even at his older age of 40. This athletic determination has meant he has played more games than Messi during his career and sustained fewer injuries.
The raw totals simply do not tell the full story. Despite Messi playing fewer games than Ronaldo, he has scored more hat-tricks more frequently. This is apparent in stats, which suggest that Messi has scored a hat-trick for every 18.9 games he has played compared with Ronaldo, who seems to score a hat-trick every 19.5 games he plays. Despite this being a fine margin, we are splitting hairs between two of the best footballers, and these marginal differences do suggest that Messi is more efficient.
The Art Of The Hat-Trick
Analyzing the types of hat-tricks Messi and Ronaldo have scored is a good way to see the standard of the hat-trick, which does add merit to the numbers with which these players are operating. In terms of perfect hat-tricks (right, left, head), Ronaldo has achieved 10 whilst Messi has never scored one. Hat-tricks with penalties included, see Ronaldo sit at 44% compared with 20% for Messi. A rare dead-ball hat-trick (penalty and 2 free kicks) has been achieved by Messi, whilst Ronaldo has a hat-trick with a goal from outside the box and 2 free kicks.
These sorts of stats show the differing techniques, skills, and styles of the players, but also perhaps offer insight into what is actually the better stat: is it a case of quantity over quality?
Conclusion
When it comes to who has more hat-tricks between Messi and Ronaldo, the short answer is Ronaldo. However, there is more to the story. Messi has more league hat-tricks, which means he has a higher level of hat-trick return. Messi also has a higher percentage frequency of hat-trick returns than Ronaldo.
Regardless, both these players are some of the best to have ever graced the pitch and will go down in the history books for their contributions to football.