Scoring a hat-trick in football is a tough task.
It’s rare that a player scores three goals in a single game and takes home the match ball.
The vast majority of professional footballers go through their whole career without ever scoring three times in a match.
The very best strikers in the world, though, have achieved the feat numerous times.
But which players have scored the most hat-tricks since the start of the 21st century?
Transfermarkt have looked at the statistics and answered that very question.
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View the 10 players that have scored the most hat-tricks in Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga) and all competitions below…
10. Thierry Henry – 11
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 13
8. Harry Kane – 13
7. Edinson Cavani – 14
6. Sergio Aguero – 17
5. Mario Gomez – 17
4. Luis Suarez – 18
3. Robert Lewandowski – 23
2. Cristiano Ronaldo – 48
1. Lionel Messi – 48
The fact that Messi and Ronaldo have both scored 48 hat-tricks in their career is just insane.
It’s yet another stat that proves just how out of this world both players are.
The Argentine has managed to score 48 in 92 fewer games. Regardless, both players are still playing at a very high level and it seems likely that both players will reach a half-century of hat-tricks scored.
The duo are 25 hat-tricks clear of Lewandowski in third. The Bayern star is the most lethal goalscorer in the world and will no doubt add a few more to his tally before he hangs up his boots.
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The most surprising name on the list is Gomez, who finds himself in fifth.
The German racked up plenty of three-goal hauls during his time in Bundesliga with Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg.
Gomez is level on 17 hat-tricks with recently-retired Aguero, who achieved the feat in 150 more games.
Kane is the youngest player on the list, having scored 13 hat-tricks at the age of 28 years old.
He’s level with Ibrahimovic and has scored two more than Arsenal legend, Henry.
