In football, a player is adjudged to have scored a hattrick if he/she nets three goals (not necessarily consecutive) in a single game.
All goals scored during the regulation 90 minutes, plus extra time if required, are counted, but goals in a penalty shootout are excluded from the tally.
The first-ever hattrick in an international match was recorded on the 2nd of March 1878, when John McDougall scored three times for Scotland in a 7-2 win against England.
Since then, there have been numerous players who scored three or more goals in a single match, either in club or international football.
The great majority of the scorers of a hat-tricks have played for the winning side, but there have also been a few occasions when the player’s team have drawn or lost the game.
The most goals ever scored in an official football match was 21 goals netted by Yanick Djouzi Manzizila for Congo United in the 9th tier of Swedish football on the 11th of August 2014.
At 14 years and 198 days, Ntinos Pontikas became the youngest ever hattrick scorer after scoring his team’s all 3 away goals in the fifth tier of the Greek championship — on his professional debut!
Here are the top 10 football players with the most hat-tricks in officially recorded history.
1. Erwin Helmchen (141)
Erwin Helmchen was a German footballer who played as a striker and is considered the most prolific goalscorer in official matches in recorded history.
He played from the 1920s to the 1950s for several clubs throughout his career, including FV Brandenburg Cottbus, PSV Chemnitz, SG Chemnitz Nord, and VfB Lübeck.
Helmchen’s impressive goalscoring record, particularly for PSV Chemnitz where he scored over 456 goals in 232+ appearances, was a result of his ability to score goals consistently.
According to RSSSF, Erwin Helmchen scored at least 141 hattricks only in official matches. This included 8 goals on 2 occasions, 7 goals on three, 6 goals ten times, and 5 goals 15 times.
Furthermore, Helmchen scored 987 goals in 577 official matches, as well as being the second goalscorer in league matches with over 720 goals.
He is also the second-most prolific goalscorer for a single team in official matches, with at least 667 goals.
2. Pele (92)
According to Guinness World Records, Pelé scored 92 hattricks during his career for Santos, New York Cosmos, and Brazil.
The Brazilian great still holds the record for the youngest player to score an hattrick in a FIFA World Cup match after achieving the feat in 1958.
Also, Pelé holds the record for the most hattricks scored by a Brazilian player, with 7.
One of those hattricks was scored in the 1958 World Cup semi-final against France; he later scored a brace against Sweden in the final in which Brazil won 5-2.
Pele is a widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He won three FIFA World Cups with Brazil in 1958, 1962, and 1970, and scored a total of 12 World Cup goals.
Pele played for Santos FC in Brazil from 1956 to 1974, where he scored over 1,000 career goals. He also played for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1975 to 1977.
Pele was known for his technical skills, speed, and ability to score goals from anything.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo (65)
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 63 hattricks in his career, which is more than any other active player.
He became the first player to reach 10 international hattricks when he netted three goals for Portugal in a 5-0 win over Luxembourg on the 12th of October 2021.
He is accepted by many fans as one of the greatest finishers in football history.
Ronaldo has excellent technical skills, including his dribbling ability, shooting accuracy, and precision passing, which enable him to score goals from a variety of positions on the pitch.
The Portuguese also has a strong mentality and an unwavering desire to win, which helps him to stay focused and motivated to score goals even in difficult situations.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 64th and 65th hat-tricks was achieved in remarkable fashion, as he notched two hat-trick within just three days, the last was Al Nassr’s dominant 8-0 victory over Abha in the Saudi Pro League.
The veteran forward, who has won the Ballon d’Or five times, contributed three goals and set up two more in the opening half for the team that has clinched the Saudi Arabian championship nine times. The match took place on Tuesday.
This latest hat-trick marks his third in the current season, adding to his impressive performance in Al Nassr’s 5-1 victory against Al Tai on Saturday. The star from Portugal is currently the top scorer in the league, boasting 29 goals.
4. Lionel Messi (57)
Lionel Messi has scored 57 hattricks in his career, mostly for Barcelona and Argentina.
The 2022 World Cup winner is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, and his ability to score goals is a major part of his legacy.
However, some argue that Messi’s goalscoring ability is underrated because he is often praised for his dribbling skills and creativity on the ball, rather than his goal-scoring prowess.
Also, one of the reasons why Lionel Messi has fewer hattricks is because he unselfishly gives penalties or clear-cut chances to his teammates whenever he is on a hattrick.
5. Ali Ashfaq (35)
Ali Ashfaq is considered as the best Maldivian footballer ever, most notably when he was named as the “World’s 2nd best top goal scorer” in 2013 by IFFHS.
Nicknamed “Man of Steel,” he is regarded as one of the best players in the South Asian region.
A prolific and individualistic goalscorer, he is a free-kick specialist and a clinical finisher.
His trademark style of scoring is beating the defenders and rounding off the keeper to score!
Ashfaq is the first Maldivian footballer to play abroad and the only player to win a title with a foreign club.
He has been capped 90 times at the international level and is Maldives’ all-time top scorer with 57 goals.
6. Robert Lewandowski (31)
Robert Lewandowski is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time, as well as one of the most successful players in Bundesliga and Bayern Munich history.
He has scored over 600 senior career goals for club and country.
Lewandowski currently has 31 official hattricks in his career.
The Polish legend has been dubbed Lewangoalski due to his proficiency in scoring goals with his head and both feet.
He is a versatile forward with the necessary attributes of a traditional number nine, such as height, strength, balance, pace, intelligent movement, and the ability to use both feet.
Although he excels as a goal-poacher in the penalty area, he also has excellent technical skills, quick feet, proficient dribbling, and a powerful shot with either foot.
Even now at 35 playing for Barcelona, Lewandowski is currently one of the best strikers in the world.
7. Luis Suárez (30)
Nicknamed El Pistolero (“The Gunman”), Luis Suárez is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest strikers of all time.
He has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot, and a Pichichi Trophy, and has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.
Suárez was known for his excellent movement off the ball, which allowed him to create space and find scoring opportunities.
The Uruguayan also had a natural instinct for goal-scoring and was able to anticipate where the ball would be in order to score goals.
Luis Suárez latest hattrick was for his team, Atlético Mineiro, against Gremio, where he scored 3 goals within 19 minutes.
8. Ali Mabkhout (26)
Ali Mabkhout is an Emirati football player who plays for UAE Pro League club, Al Jazira.
The 33-year-old has scored 211 in 283 appearances for his club, who he has spent his entire career with.
Mabkhout has notched 26 career hattricks so far.
9. Vyacheslav Zahovaiko (26)
Vyacheslav Zahovaiko is a former Estonian player who is the manager of Gambian side Real de Banjul.
He played for several clubs in his playing days and scored 26 overall hattricks for his clubs, as well as for the Estonian national team.
10. Marc Lloyd Williams (24)
Marc Lloyd Williams is a former Welsh footballer.
He is the Welsh Premier League’s all-time top scorer, with 319 goals.
Williams was the highest scorer in all European leagues with 47 goals in the 2001/02 season, but did not win the European Golden Boot as the Welsh Premier League has a lower co-efficient than some of Europe’s bigger leagues.
