There are no better feelings for an individual in a football match to earn the MoM and take the match ball home after scoring a hat trick and it’s a boon that we are living in the era that has given most of the Best Goal scorers the World has ever seen. In keeping with the most famous dialogue 'attack is the best defence', a team with a prolific striker is a nightmare for any opposition. To score a hattrick is one thing but to keep repeating that feat is a different thing altogether.
That is what separates the best from the rest. Here we list down the top 5 players with the highest number of hat tricks:
5) Robert Lewandowski (24 times)
We have said this before, if not for the pandemic and the Ballon D’ Or being scraped, Lewandowski would have surely walked out with his first. Lewandowski is the best number 9 in Europe right now after scoring 49 goals in 41 games across the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League. The last or the 24th hat trick came against Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
4) Luis Suarez (29 times)
Certainly, he was right when he felt he was treated by Barcelona even after giving so much to the club. He even outscored Messi and Ronaldo and was a part of one of the best attacking partnerships ever, MSN (Messi, Suarez and Neymar). At 33, he did look like he was starting to fade. However, Suarez joined Atletico Madrid this summer and has been one of their standout performers so far this season. Among his 29 hat tricks, he scored a total of 4 goals or more in 9 occasions.
3) Leo Messi (54 times)
Moving onto a different league of super-men or supernatural beings! Undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all time has scored a career high of 54 hat tricks, scoring four goals on five occasions and he also scored five goals in a game. Even though he has hit a lean patch (only by his records), he is sure to have plenty more years of football left in him. This Argentine is a nightmare for defenders with his unreal close control and dribbling ability.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo (56 times)
Another name in “One of the greatest footballers of all time”, an elite Ronaldo is a sight to behold. Even though he has lost a bit of pace owing to his age, he makes up for it by his movement and intelligence. It's hard to separate him from Messi on most fronts but the Portuguese has the slightest edge over his rival when it comes to hat tricks. The Portuguese International has scored 56 career hat tricks, with four goals in eight games and five goals on two occasions.
1) Pele (92 times)
Even though some of his records are still under doubt, owing to the faulty and obscure recording procedure back then, Pele is still one of the best football players to grace the football pitch. Many of his 92 hat tricks have come in friendlies but if those numbers are good enough for the Guinness World Records, we shouldn’t have problems though. He is also the youngest player to score a hat trick in the FIFA World Cup at 17 back in 1958.
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