At the peak of their powers, it seemed like Messi and Ronaldo were scoring hat-tricks every other week. They've scored a mind-boggling 123 hat-tricks between them in their glittering careers.
Of those, Messi has scored 57 hat-tricks and Ronaldo has scored 66 hat-tricks.
Having played considerably fewer games, Messi has scored hat-tricks with slightly more regularity over his career. Messi scores a hat-trick every 18.9 games on average, whereas Ronaldo scores a hat-trick for every 18.8 games played.
4 or 5 Goals in a Game
Messi has scored more than 3 goals in a game on 8 separate occasions, scoring 4 goals six times, and 5 goals twice.
Messi 4 goals in a game
Date
H/A
Opponent
Score
Competition
22/02/2020
H
Eibar
5-0
La Liga
19/09/2017
H
Eibar
6-1
La Liga
27/01/2013
H
Osasuna
5-1
La Liga
05/05/2012
H
Espanyol
4-0
La Liga
19/02/2012
H
Valencia
5-1
La Liga
06/04/2010
H
Arsenal
4-1
Champions League
Messi 5 goals in a game
Date
H/A
Opponent
Score
Competition
05/06/2022
N
Estonia
5-0
Friendly
07/03/2012
H
Bayer Leverkusen
7-1
Champions League
Ronaldo has scored more than 3 in a game an impressive 11 times, scoring 4 goals in a game nine times and 5 goals twice.
Ronaldo 4 goals in a game
Date
H/A
Opponent
Score
Competition
09/02/2023
A
Al-Wehda
4-0
Saudi Pro League
10/09/2019
A
Lithuania
5-1
Euros Qualifier
18/03/2018
H
Girona
6-3
La Liga
07/10/2016
H
Andorra
6-0
World Cup Qualifier
05/03/2016
H
Celta Vigo
7-1
La Liga
08/12/2015
H
Malmo
8-0
Champions League
23/09/2014
H
Elche
5-1
La Liga
07/05/2011
A
Sevilla
6-2
La Liga
23/10/2010
H
Racing Santander
6-1
La Liga
Ronaldo 5 goals in a game
Date
H/A
Opponent
Score
Competition
12/09/2015
A
Espanyol
6-0
La Liga
05/04/2015
H
Granada
9-1
La Liga
How many of their hat-tricks include penalties?
Of Messi's 57 career hat-tricks, 12 of them included penalties, meaning 21.1% of all his hat-tricks included a penalty.
Ronaldo scored a penalty in 29 of his 66 career hat-tricks, meaning 43.9% of his hat-tricks have included a penalty goal.
Unique Hat-tricks
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored an unbelievable 10 "perfect" hat-tricks (a hat-trick consisting of 1 right foot goal, 1 left foot goal, and 1 headed goal), clearly demonstrating his superb weak foot and heading ability.
With Messi only scoring 27 headers in his whole career, it may come as no surprise that he hasn't got any perfect hat-tricks to his name.
Leo Messi does however have a weak foot hat-trick to his name, scoring 3 right footed goals in a 2014 Champions League tie against APOEL. Messi has also scored a dead ball hat-trick, consisting of a penalty and 2 direct free kick goals against Celta Vigo in 2019.
Although Ronaldo hasn't quite managed a weak foot hat-trick, an incredible 34 of his 66 hat-tricks (51.5%) have included a weak foot goal. For Messi, it's 24 out of 57 (42.1%).
How do they score their hat-tricks?
Hat-tricks WITH...
Messi (%)
Ronaldo (%)
Weak Foot Goal
24 (42.1%)
34 (51.5%)
Headed Goal
3 (5.3%)
30 (45.5%)
Free Kick Goal
8 (14.0%)
14 (21.2%)
Outside Box Goal (open play)
13 (22.8%)
19 (28.8%)
Hat-tricks WITHOUT...
Messi (%)
Ronaldo (%)
Penalty Goal
45 (78.9%)
37 (56.1%)
Extra Time Goal
57 (100.0%)
64 (97.0%)
Where do they score their hat-tricks?
19 of Messi's 57 career hat-tricks have come away from home; 33.3%. He's scored 36 hat-tricks at home and 2 in a neutral venue.
63.2% hat-tricks scored at home
33.3% hat-tricks scored away
23 of Ronaldo's 66 career hat-tricks have been scored in away matches; 34.8%. He's scored 42 hat-tricks in home games and 1 at a neutral venue.
63.6% hat-tricks scored at home
34.8% hat-tricks scored away
Notable Messi Hat-tricks
Messi began his hat-trick haul with a bang, netting his first ever treble in El Clasico against arch-rivals Real Madrid at 19 years of age. When a Guti free kick flicked in off Sergio Ramos' head, Real looked likely to secure a huge victory, but Messi's superb 91st minute strike ensure the game finished 3-3. Interestingly, this is the only match in which Messi has scored a hat-trick that his side hasn't won.
Another that sticks in the memory is Messi's hat-trick in World Cup qualifying against Ecuador. Argentina had endured a turbulent campaign and required a win in their final game - away to Ecuador - to ensure qualification for Russia 2018. Ecuador scored an early goal and Argentina feared the worst, but then, Messi happened. He struck twice inside the first half an hour to turn the game around and then sealed his hat-trick, along with World Cup qualification, in the second half.
Messi has 8 hat-tricks in the Champions League, which is a record he and Ronaldo currently share. His two most memorable in the competition were against Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen. Messi produced a simply stunning performance against Arsenal at Camp Nou in 2010, hitting 4 past the English side to mark his very first Champions League hat-trick.
Two years later, he somehow bettered this by scoring FIVE against Bayer Leverkusen in a Last 16 encounter, becoming the first player in history to score 5 in a Champions League fixture (since matched by Luiz Adriano).
In a 2019 La Liga fixture, Messi scored one of his more unique hat-tricks against Celta Vigo, when an early penalty followed by 2 free kicks either side of half-time secured a dead ball hat-trick.
Complete List of Messi Hat-tricks
Date
H/A
Team
Opponent
Score
Competition
Goals
Pens
28/03/2023
H
Argentina
Curacao
7-0
Friendly
3
0
05/06/2022
N
Argentina
Estonia
5-0
Friendly
5
1
10/09/2021
H
Argentina
Bolivia
3-0
World Cup Qualifier
3
0
22/02/2020
H
Barcelona
Eibar
5-0
La Liga
4
0
07/12/2019
H
Barcelona
Mallorca
5-2
La Liga
3
0
9/11/2019
H
Barcelona
Celta Vigo
4-1
La Liga
3
1
17/03/2019
A
Barcelona
Real Betis
4-1
La Liga
3
0
23/02/2019
A
Barcelona
Sevilla
4-2
La Liga
3
0
16/12/2018
A
Barcelona
Levante
5-0
La Liga
3
0
18/09/2018
H
Barcelona
PSV
4-0
Champions League
3
0
30/05/2018
H
Argentina
Haiti
4-0
Friendly
3
1
29/04/2018
A
Barcelona
Deportivo La Coruna
4-2
La Liga
3
0
07/04/2018
H
Barcelona
Leganes
3-1
La Liga
3
0
11/10/2017
A
Argentina
Ecuador
3-1
World Cup Qualifier
3
0
19/09/2017
H
Barcelona
Eibar
6-1
La Liga
4
1
09/09/2017
H
Barcelona
Espanyol
5-0
La Liga
3
0
19/10/2016
H
Barcelona
Manchester City
4-0
Champions League
3
0
13/09/2016
H
Barcelona
Celtic
7-0
Champions League
3
0
11/06/2016
N
Argentina
Panama
5-0
Copa America
3
0
03/03/2016
A
Barcelona
Rayo Vallecano
5-1
La Liga
3
0
03/02/2016
H
Barcelona
Valencia
7-0
Copa del Rey
3
0
09/01/2016
H
Barcelona
Granada
4-0
La Liga
3
0
08/03/2015
H
Barcelona
Rayo Vallecano
6-1
La Liga
3
1
15/02/2015
H
Barcelona
Levante
5-0
La Liga
3
1
18/01/2015
A
Barcelona
Deportivo La Coruna
4-0
La Liga
3
0
07/12/2014
H
Barcelona
Espanyol
5-1
La Liga
3
0
25/11/2014
A
Barcelona
APOEL
4-0
Champions League
3
0
22/11/2014
H
Barcelona
Sevilla
5-1
La Liga
3
0
23/03/2014
A
Barcelona
Real Madrid
4-3
La Liga
3
2
16/03/2014
H
Barcelona
Osasuna
7-0
La Liga
3
0
18/09/2013
H
Barcelona
Ajax
4-0
Champions League
3
0
01/09/2013
A
Barcelona
Valencia
3-2
La Liga
3
0
15/06/2013
A
Argentina
Guatemala
4-0
Friendly
3
1
27/01/2013
H
Barcelona
Osasuna
5-1
La Liga
4
1
20/10/2012
A
Barcelona
Deportivo La Coruna
5-4
La Liga
3
0
09/06/2012
H
Argentina
Brazil
4-3
Friendly
3
0
05/05/2012
H
Barcelona
Espanyol
4-0
La Liga
4
2
02/05/2012
H
Barcelona
Malaga
4-1
La Liga
3
2
20/03/2012
H
Barcelona
Granada
5-3
La Liga
3
0
07/03/2012
H
Barcelona
Bayer Leverkusen
7-1
Champions League
5
0
29/02/2012
A
Argentina
Switzerland
3-1
Friendly
3
1
19/02/2012
H
Barcelona
Valencia
5-1
La Liga
4
0
22/01/2012
A
Barcelona
Malaga
4-1
La Liga
3
0
01/11/2011
A
Barcelona
Viktoria Plzen
4-0
Champions League
3
1
29/10/2011
H
Barcelona
Mallorca
5-0
La Liga
3
1
24/09/2011
H
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
5-0
La Liga
3
0
17/09/2011
H
Barcelona
Osasuna
8-0
La Liga
3
0
05/02/2011
H
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
3-0
La Liga
3
0
12/01/2011
H
Barcelona
Real Betis
5-0
Copa del Rey
3
0
20/11/2010
A
Barcelona
Almeria
8-0
La Liga
3
0
21/08/2010
H
Barcelona
Sevilla
4-0
Supercopa de Espana
3
0
06/04/2010
H
Barcelona
Arsenal
4-1
Champions League
4
0
21/03/2010
A
Barcelona
Real Zaragoza
4-2
La Liga
3
0
14/03/2010
H
Barcelona
Valencia
3-0
La Liga
3
0
10/01/2010
A
Barcelona
Tenerife
5-0
La Liga
3
0
06/01/2009
A
Barcelona
Atletico Madrid
3-1
Copa del Rey
3
1
10/03/2007
H
Barcelona
Real Madrid
3-3
La Liga
3
0
Notable Ronaldo Hat-tricks
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 10 hat-tricks at international level, two of which particularly stand out.
The first was a crucial World Cup qualification play-off, in which Portugal took a 1-0 first-leg lead to Sweden. After Ronaldo's opener in the second-leg, Ibrahimovic gave Sweden a 2-1 lead as they threatened to turn the tie around. Then, Ronaldo struck twice in three minutes to secure his hat-trick, and qualification for the 2014 World Cup. His third strike also took him to 47 international goals, equalling Pauleta's all time record.
The second Portugal hat-trick that sticks out is of course his World Cup treble against Spain. With Spain largely the better side, Ronaldo salvaged an unlikely draw for Portugal as he fired in a late free-kick to level the match at 3-3. In terms of quality, it's perhaps generous to rank this among his best hat-tricks (one being a penalty and another a goalkeeping howler from De Gea), but on the world stage against one of the best teams in the world, and with the pressure weighing heavy on that late free-kick, it has to be considered one of his most memorable.
In 2016, Real Madrid were in real trouble after going down 2-0 to Wolfsburg in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg. But they needn't have worried. In the second-leg, Ronaldo wiped out their lead in the space of two first half minutes, before scoring a third in the 77th minute to secure Real's semi-final spot.
A year later, he was back at it again. Bayern Munich had forced their quarter-final tie with Real Madrid into extra-time. Ronaldo then struck twice in extra-time to seal his hat-trick and Real's advancement in the competition.
He wasn't finished their though. In the following round he bacme the first player to score back-to-back hat-tricks in the Champions League knockout stage, putting 3 past fierce rivals Atletico Madrid.
Two years later, Ronaldo reinforced his reputation once again for rescuing his sides in the Champions League. This time he was in Juventus colours, with his side 2-0 down after a Last 16 first-leg against Atletico Madrid. In the second-leg... you can guess what happened. Ronaldo netted 2 headers and a penalty to completely turn the tie around, scoring his first Juventus hat-trick in the process. It was also his eighth hat-trick in the Champions League, equalling Messi's competition record.
Complete List of Ronaldo Hat-tricks
Date
H/A
Team
Opponent
Score
Competition
Goals
Pens
04/05/2024
H
Al-Nassr
Al-Wehda
6-0
Saudi Pro League
3
0
02/04/2024
A
Al-Nassr
Abha
8-0
Saudi Pro League
3
0
30/03/2024
H
Al-Nassr
Al Taee
5-1
Saudi Pro League
3
0
25/08/2023
A
Al-Nassr
Al-Fateh
5-0
Saudi Pro League
3
0
25/02/2023
A
Al-Nassr
Damac
3-0
Saudi Pro League
3
1
09/02/2023
A
Al-Nassr
Al-Wehda
4-0
Saudi Pro League
4
1
16/04/2022
H
Manchester United
Norwich City
3-2
Premier League
3
0
12/03/2022
H
Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur
3-2
Premier League
3
0
12/10/2021
H
Portugal
Luxembourg
5-0
World Cup Qualifier
3
2
14/03/2021
A
Juventus
Cagliari
3-1
Serie A
3
1
06/01/2020
H
Juventus
Cagliari
4-0
Serie A
3
1
14/11/2019
H
Portugal
Lithuania
6-0
Euros Qualifier
3
1
10/09/2019
A
Portugal
Lithuania
5-1
Euros Qualifier
4
1
05/06/2019
H
Portugal
Switzerland
3-1
UEFA Nationa League
3
0
12/03/2019
H
Juventus
Atletico Madrid
3-0
Champions League
3
1
15/06/2018
N
Portugal
Spain
3-3
World Cup
3
1
18/03/2018
H
Real Madrid
Girona
6-3
La Liga
4
0
10/02/2018
H
Real Madrid
Real Sociedad
5-2
La Liga
3
0
31/08/2017
H
Portugal
Faroe Islands
5-1
World Cup Qualifier
3
1
02/05/2017
H
Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid
3-0
Champions League
3
0
18/04/2017
H
Real Madrid
Bayern Munich
4-2
Champions League
3
0
18/12/2016
H
Real Madrid
Kashima Antlers
4-2
Club World Cup
3
1
19/11/2016
A
Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid
3-0
La Liga
3
1
29/10/2016
A
Real Madrid
Alaves
4-1
La Liga
3
1
07/10/2016
H
Portugal
Andorra
6-0
World Cup Qualifier
4
0
12/04/2016
H
Real Madrid
Wolfsburg
3-0
Champions League
3
0
05/03/2016
H
Real Madrid
Celta Vigo
7-1
La Liga
4
0
31/01/2016
H
Real Madrid
Espanyol
6-0
La Liga
3
1
08/12/2015
H
Real Madrid
Malmo
8-0
Champions League
4
0
15/09/2015
H
Real Madrid
Shakhtar Donetsk
4-0
Champions League
3
2
12/09/2015
A
Real Madrid
Espanyol
6-0
La Liga
5
1
13/06/2015
A
Portugal
Armenia
3-2
Euros Qualifier
3
1
23/05/2015
H
Real Madrid
Getafe
7-3
La Liga
3
1
17/05/2015
A
Real Madrid
Espanyol
4-1
La Liga
3
0
02/05/2015
A
Real Madrid
Sevilla
3-2
La Liga
3
0
05/04/2015
H
Real Madrid
Granada
9-1
La Liga
5
0
06/12/2014
H
Real Madrid
Celta Vigo
3-0
La Liga
3
1
05/10/2014
H
Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao
5-0
La Liga
3
0
23/09/2014
H
Real Madrid
Elche
5-1
La Liga
4
2
20/09/2014
A
Real Madrid
Deportivo La Coruna
8-2
La Liga
3
0
19/11/2013
A
Portugal
Sweden
3-2
World Cup Qualifier
3
0
09/11/2013
H
Real Madrid
Real Sociedad
5-1
La Liga
3
1
30/10/2013
H
Real Madrid
Sevilla
7-3
La Liga
3
1
17/09/2013
A
Real Madrid
Galatasaray
6-1
Champions League
3
0
06/09/2013
A
Portugal
Northern Ireland
4-2
World Cup Qualifier
3
0
09/02/2013
H
Real Madrid
Sevilla
4-1
La Liga
3
0
27/01/2013
H
Real Madrid
Getafe
4-0
La Liga
3
1
09/01/2013
H
Real Madrid
Celta Vigo
4-0
Copa del Rey
3
0
03/10/2012
A
Real Madrid
Ajax
4-1
Champions League
3
0
30/09/2012
H
Real Madrid
Deportivo La Coruna
5-1
La Liga
3
2
11/04/2012
A
Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid
4-1
La Liga
3
1
12/02/2012
H
Real Madrid
Levante
4-2
La Liga
3
1
17/12/2011
A
Real Madrid
Sevilla
6-2
La Liga
3
1
06/11/2011
H
Real Madrid
Osasuna
7-1
La Liga
3
1
22/10/2011
A
Real Madrid
Malaga
4-0
La Liga
3
0
24/09/2011
H
Real Madrid
Rayo Vallecano
6-2
La Liga
3
2
28/08/2011
A
Real Madrid
Real Zaragoza
6-0
La Liga
3
0
10/05/2011
H
Real Madrid
Getafe
4-0
La Liga
3
1
07/05/2011
A
Real Madrid
Sevilla
6-2
La Liga
4
0
03/03/2011
H
Real Madrid
Malaga
7-0
La Liga
3
1
09/01/2011
H
Real Madrid
Villarreal
4-2
La Liga
3
0
22/12/2010
H
Real Madrid
Levante
8-0
Copa del Rey
3
0
20/11/2010
H
Real Madrid
Athletic Bilbao
5-1
La Liga
3
1
23/10/2010
H
Real Madrid
Racing Santander
6-1
La Liga
4
1
05/05/2010
A
Real Madrid
Mallorca
4-1
La Liga
3
0
12/01/2008
H
Manchester United
Newcastle United
6-0
Premier League
3
0
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