Which Footballer Has Scored the Most Hat-Tricks?

Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in football, but some players have a real knack for finding the net with ease. Scoring a hat-trick, which is three goals in the same game, is a great achievement at any level of the professional game. Or in fact any level (nobody can steal our 5-a-side Wednesday night glory!).

Several superstar names have hit trebles over the years, with some stars scoring hat-tricks in the biggest matches and tournaments in the sport. Here is an overview of player hat-tricks in professional football as we take a look at the most prolific hat-trick hitters in the game.

Premier League Hat-Tricks

Since its inception in 1992, the Premier League, England’s top division, has become the biggest and most prestigious football league on the planet. The world’s top players want to strut their stuff in the Premier League, and there have been a whole host of hat-trick heroes over the last 30 years or so.

The likes of Sergio Aguero, Alan Shearer, Robbie Fowler, and Thierry Henry scored multiple hat-tricks in their Premier League careers. Aguero, who was a real hit during his spell at Manchester City, still holds the record with 12 EPL hat-tricks. His last treble came in January 2020, and he left England the following year.

Shearer sits second on the all-time list with 11 trebles, with Fowler in third with nine. Henry, Harry Kane, and Michael Owen are level on eight, with Wayne Rooney sitting in seventh place with seven Premier League hat-tricks (stats correct ahead of the 2023/24 campaign).

Out of all those star names, Kane is the only active player. While he is still a Premier League striker, Kane has every chance of breaking the record. The England ace is closing in on many Premier League records. In the 2022-23 season, Kane became Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time record goalscorer. If he stays in the Premier League, Kane is likely to break Shearer’s astonishing 260-goal record. However, at the time of writing, a move to Bayern Munich is a distinct possibility.

First-Ever PL Treble

The first-ever Premier League hat-trick was scored in the first month of the competition. Back in August 1992, the great Eric Cantona netted the first treble in Premier League history. As a Leeds United player, Cantona scored three in United’s 5-0 win against Tottenham at Elland Road.

A few months later, Mark Robins scored the second. Robins scored all three in an entertaining 3-2 victory for Norwich City over Oldham Athletic. In the first year of the Premier League, a total of 13 players scored hat-tricks, with Les Ferdinand netting two trebles.

Southampton legend, Matthew Le Tissier, was the first player to score three Premier League hat-tricks. He scored three against both Oldham and Liverpool before scoring his third treble against Norwich in April 1994. Whatever you think about his current status as Twitter warrior, there is no denying he was a magical, mesmerising player in his pomp.

Haaland’s Stunning First Season in England

We have been treated to a whole host of world-class players and sensational scorers in the Premier League era. However, Norwegian phenom Erling Haaland made the biggest impact, netting a stunning and record-setting 36 Premier League goals in his first full season at the Etihad Stadium.

Haaland scored four hat-tricks for Man City in the 2022-23 campaign, with the first of those coming against Crystal Palace in August 2022. He then scored a treble in the next game against Nottingham Forest. Haaland bagged half of City’s six goals in a 6-3 success against rivals, Manchester United, and hit another three against Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2023.

Haaland broke the record for the most Premier League hat-tricks in a debut season in the 2022-23 campaign, but Shearer still holds the record for most hat-tricks in a single season. The former England captain scored five trebles in the 1995-96 campaign, which earned him a big-money move to his beloved Newcastle United the following year.

Kane is also looking to break Shearer’s hat-trick record in a single season. Like Haaland, Kane has managed four hat-tricks in one term. Aguero scored three in the 2017-18 season, and French legend, Henry, netted two for Arsenal in their unbeaten season back in 2003-04.

Debut Premier League Hat-Tricks

Incredibly, only one player has scored a Premier League hat-trick on their debut. That award goes to Fabrizio Ravanelli, who bagged three goals for Middlesbrough in his first game with the club back in 1996.

Big things were expected of the Italian after his £7m move to Bryan Robson’s Boro from giants Juventus. He made a massive impact on the opening weekend of the 1996-97 Premier League season, scoring three in a memorable 3-3 draw with Liverpool. The record still stands to this day.

Fastest Hat-Tricks

Sadio Mané has scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick to date. While a Southampton player in 2015, Mané scored three goals in just under three minutes in a 6-1 win over Aston Villa. Before Mane smashed the record, Fowler’s rapid treble against Arsenal for Liverpool in August 1994 stood for over 10 years as the fastest in PL history. Fowler ripped the Gunners apart in that one, scoring all three in the first half of the 3-0 success at Anfield.

Tottenham recorded one of the biggest Premier League victories of all time when they hammered Wigan Athletic 9-1 back in November 2009. Jermain Defoe was on fire for the Londoners, scoring a hat-trick in just seven minutes at White Hart Lane. Incredibly, Defoe scored five second-half goals in the romp.

FA Cup & EFL Records

Andy Locke scored the quickest FA Cup hat-trick back in 1995. Locke scored an incredibly quick treble for Nantwich in just two minutes and 20 seconds. James Hayter still holds the record for the fastest Football League hat-trick, scoring three goals in two minutes and 21.88 seconds for Bournemouth. He came on as a substitute in the 84th minute with his side 3-0 up.

Robert Earnshaw: Welshman’s Stunning Record

Robert Earnshaw has a unique hat-trick record in English football. The former Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion striker, who played over 50 times for Wales, is the only player to have scored hat-tricks in all three Football League divisions, the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, and at international level.

Most of his hat-tricks came for Cardiff in the Football League and domestic cup competitions. He scored three in a game for West Brom in the Premier League though, and the forward also hit a hat-trick for Wales in a 4-0 friendly win over Scotland in 2004.

Most FIFA World Cup Hat-Tricks

The FIFA World Cup is the biggest competition in world football. Scoring a hat-trick at this level is not easy, but four players have scored two hat-tricks on the grandest stage of all. Gabriel Batistuta scored three for Argentina against Greece in 1994 and then struck three against Jamaica four years later in 1998, in France.

The legendary French forward Just Fontaine scored the most goals in a single World Cup with a staggering 13 in the 1958 tournament. He scored two hat-tricks in the competition, including a treble in the third-place play-off. Sandor Kocsis and Gerd Muller are the other two players to have scored more than one World Cup hat-trick.

Only two players in the history of the World Cup have scored hat-tricks in finals. Geoff Hurst scored three goals in England’s World Cup victory against Germany in 1966, with two of those coming in extra time. Kylian Mbappe scored three for France in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Two came in normal time and one came at the end of extra time. Incredibly, despite Mbappe’s heroics, the French went on to lose to Argentina on penalties.

Unlikely Hat-Trick Heroes

Over the years, there have been several defenders that have scored professional hat-tricks. Fernando Hierro scored two hat-tricks for Real Madrid, while Bernard Dietz once scored four in one game for Duisburg. Also, Daley Blind scored three in an 8-0 Ajax win in 2018. Not bad considering Jamie Carragher managed just four goals in 737 outings with Liverpool!

In English football, Aden Flint scored three goals in a match for Bristol City in EFL League One back in 2015. The tall defender is renowned for his goalscoring prowess and scored 38 times in 246 games for Bristol City, a very decent return for a centre back.

Goalkeeper Hat-Tricks

The sole purpose of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball from going into the net. However, believe it or not, there have been three keepers that have scored professional hat-tricks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, all goalkeeper hat-trick goals have been scored from penalty kicks.

The first was in 1963, as Ilija Pantelic scored all three goals for FK Vojvodina. Jose Luis Chilavert is one of the most popular goalkeepers of all time. The, shall we say eccentric, Paraguayan scored nearly 50 career goals, including a hat-trick in 1999. In 2022, Greece stopper Grigorios Athanasiou scored a hat-trick in a Greek Fourth Division match.

Most Goals Scored in a Single Match

Yanick Manzizila holds the record for most goals scored in a single match. The Swede scored a staggering 21 goals (seven hat-tricks) in a resounding 30-0 win for his side in 2014. Before that, Frenchman Stefan Dembicki held the record with 16 goals in a French Cup matchup back in 1942.

Most Hat-Tricks at International Level

The great Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the most hat-tricks for a national team, netting an incredible 10 for Portugal between 2013 and 2021. To put that into context, Portugal’s fourth-highest goalscorer, Luis Figo, managed 32 goals in his entire international career! Sven Rydell and Lionel Messi both have nine for their respective nations but of course both Ronaldo and Messi will be hoping to improve their tallies yet.

Poul Nielsen has scored eight for Denmark, and Ali Daei netted eight for Iran during his 13-year international career. Pele scored seven for Brazil, with the last of those coming in 1964.

Ronaldo vs Messi

Ronaldo and Messi are the two most decorated footballers of all time. The pair are still going strong to this day, and Ronaldo and Messi have been going head-to-head on the pitch for the best part of 20 years. In many ways their longevity is just as impressive as their brilliance and both factors have contributed to them setting so many records.

As noted, for now at least, Ronaldo is ahead of Messi in international hat-tricks, scoring 10 to the Argentine’s nine. The Portuguese ace is also ahead in the overall number of hat-tricks. Ronaldo has scored 62, while the Inter Miami man has bagged 57. Both players have eight UEFA Champions League hat-tricks to their name. Erling Haaland has two in the competition but will surely add several more in the years ahead.

Ronaldo is also the oldest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. He netted three in a 3-3 group draw with Spain in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Messi scored a brace in the 2022 final against France. He also scored from the penalty spot in Argentina’s victory.

Pelé: Brazil’s Finest

Pelé is one of the greatest players of all time. The Brazilian set the trend for scoring goals, netting a staggering 1,279 goals in 1,363 career games. Pele scored seven hat-tricks for Brazil, including one in the 1958 World Cup semi-final against France. He also went on to net a brace in a 5-2 win over Sweden in the final.

Pelé became the youngest player to record a professional hat-trick. He scored three goals for Santos aged just 16 years and 197 days old. The record stood until 14-year-old Ntinos Pontikas scored three times in a game in 1996.

Consecutive Hat-Tricks

Scoring a hat-trick is one of the toughest things to do in football, but three players have netted trebles in five successive games – Haaland eat your heart out (or is it just animal hearts that he eats?). The first to do so was Josef Bican, who scored an incredible 19 goals in five matches in the Bohemia and Moravia league in 1940.

More recently, Stjepan Lucijanic scored hat-tricks in five consecutive games in 2016. Two years later, Maldives international Ahmed Rizuvan did it for Club Eagles in the Dhivehi Premier League.

Other Notable Hat-Tricks

Real Madrid legend, Raúl, is the youngest player to have scored a Champions League hat-trick. Raúl was just 18 when he scored three for Real in a 6-1 victory over Ferencvaros in 1995. At the other end of the spectrum, Karim Benzema became the oldest Champions League hat-trick scorer in 2022. Benzema scored three for Real in a matchup against Premier League outfit Chelsea.

Ex-Man United striker, Radamel Falcao, scored three hat-tricks for Porto in the 2010-21 UEFA Europa League. Falcao also scored three goals in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup final for Atletico Madrid against Chelsea. The only Englishman to score three goals in a continental club final is Terry McDermott. He scored three in Liverpool’s 6-0 victory over Hamburg in the 1977 European Super Cup at Anfield.