Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who has scored more career hat-tricks?

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·15 Mei 2026

Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who has scored more career hat-tricks?

An own goal denied Lionel Messi his latest hat-trick – but how does he compare to his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to bagging three goals in a game?

Messi had already scored twice, and set up another, when he struck his would-be third in Inter Miami’s 5-3 victory away to Cincinnati. But the goal wasn’t officially credited to Messi, given it struck the post and wasn’t heading in until it rebounded in, off the back of the helpless Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano.

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The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s wait for his first hat-trick of 2026 goes on, although he’s scored consistently and remains in the hunt to become the first player in Major League Soccer history to retain the Golden Boot, having notched 11 goals in 12 appearances so far.

He’s scored two hat-tricks for Inter Miami and a further two hat-tricks for Argentina since completing football at the 2022 World Cup, while his old foe Ronaldo has filled his boots out in the Saudi Pro League with six for Al-Nassr.

But what about their prime years and their era-defining rivalry? We’ve delved into the numbers.

While Ronaldo filled his boots in his first couple of seasons out in the middle east, it’s been over two years since his last hat-trick for club or country. Messi has scored three hat-tricks since Ronaldo last did, and he was inches away from closing the gap further in midweek.

Messi has scored 60 career hat-tricks in total, and as many on the international stage as Ronaldo. He’s now six hat-tricks behind the 41-year-old Al-Nassr striker, and it’s not inconceivable that he surpasses him on that front when they finally hang up their boots – something that grows ever closer for the two veterans.

While Ronaldo bests Messi on most fronts overall, he does have something of a head start – over two years older, with almost 200 more career appearances under his belt. If you look at their hat-trick numbers on a per-game basis, Messi actually has the edge.

Here’s the full breakdown of their hat-trick stats: