Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks by an active footballer, with 66 hat-tricks during his trophy-laden career so far.
Ronaldo, who has the most headed goals in the 21st century among his innumerable records, registered the first hat-trick of his senior career in Manchester United’s 6-0 win against Newcastle United in 2008 while his most recent came for Al-Nassr in a 6-0 Saudi Pro League win over Al-Wehda on 4 May 2024. He has not scored one since.
In a Portugal shirt, Cristiano’s last hat-trick came in Portugal’s 5-0 win against Luxembourg in a World Cup 2022 qualifying game. His triple strike was his 10th hat-trick for the national team, then a men’s international record. Lionel Messi has since overtaken him with 11.
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⚽️⚽️⚽️ v✅ @Cristiano has now scored the most hat-tricks in international football history.
SPORF (@Sporf), October 13, 2021
Ronaldo was also the oldest player to score a hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup for eight years: at 33 years and 130 days he scored all three of Portugal’s goals in a 3-3 draw with Spain in 2018. Messi took that record too, at 38 years and 357 days, against Algeria at the 2026 World Cup.
Lionel Messi is second on this list with 62 hat-tricks for Barcelona, Inter Miami and Argentina. The Argentina captain notched his maiden hat-trick in a 2007 El Clasico fixture against Real Madrid, which ended in a 3-3 draw. His hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria on 16 June 2026, his first at a World Cup, was his 11th for Argentina, making him the first man to score 11 international hat-tricks.
751 – Earlier today, Lionel Messi notched the 55th hat-trick of his career, and his seventh for Argentina. In doing so, he surpassed Pelé (77) as the highest scoring South American player in men’s internationals (79), whilst also scoring his 750th (and 751st) career goals. Goat?
OptaJoe (@OptaJoe), September 10, 2021
Additionally, Messi is the first player to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League game with his effort coming in Barcelona’s 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.
Behind the top two, career hat-trick counts differ widely from source to source and have moved a lot since 2024, so we list only the two leaders. Among the chasing pack, Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane has kept adding to his total: he finished the 2025-26 season with back-to-back hat-tricks, against FC Cologne on the final day of the Bundesliga and against VfB Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final.
Most hat-tricks by an active footballer (as of 28 September 2026)
| Players | Total hat-tricks |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 66 |
| Lionel Messi | 62 |
Author: William Paul
Featured photo: AFP /