Lionel Messi scores 60th career hat-trick: How many has Cristiano Ronaldo recorded?

Lionel Messi capped off two dream weeks and reaffirmed his impact on U.S. soccer by scoring a hat-trick in Inter Miami’s dominant 5-2 victory over Nashville in the final match of the MLS regular season. The hat-trick is opening the door for comparison: how many does Cristiano Ronaldo have?

This stellar performance highlighted an impressive stretch for the Argentine star, who tallied five goals and six assists across his last four games with Inter Miami and Argentina.

Messi’s latest hat-trick ended a short drought, as he hadn’t scored three goals in a single match since his consecutive hat-tricks with the Argentina national team during the 2024 World Cup qualifiers—first against Bolivia, then against New England in October 2024.

With this new milestone, the Rosario native raised his career total to 60 hat-tricks: ten with Argentina, 48 with Barcelona, and the two most recent with Inter Miami.

Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF.

How many hat-tricks does Cristiano Ronaldo have in his career?

Despite Messi’s remarkable record, in the ongoing and fascinating comparison with his contemporary Cristiano Ronaldo, the Argentine remains six hat-tricks behind the Portuguese superstar.

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Cristiano Ronaldo, currently at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, has recorded 66 career hat-tricks: 55 times with three goals, nine times with four goals, and twice with five goals. His most recent was on May 4, 2024, in a 6-0 victory over Al Wehda. The race for historical supremacy continues to captivate soccer fans worldwide.

Messi’s favorite victims

Messi’s preferred targets have been Spanish teams, with Valencia taking the brunt, conceding four of his hat-tricks. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol, Deportivo La Coruña, and Osasuna have each suffered three hat-tricks from the Argentine forward.

Reviewing his record with Argentina, Messi’s international hat-tricks include Switzerland (2012), Brazil (2012), Guatemala (2013), Panama (2016), Ecuador (2017), Haiti (2018), Bolivia (2021), Estonia (2022), Curacao (2023), and most recently Bolivia again in 2024.