KEY POINTS

  • Ronaldo now has 59 hat-tricks to his name
  • Out of which, 2 have come for Man Utd
  • Ronaldo returned to Man Utd in the 2021 summer

Cristiano Ronaldo netted an incredible hat-trick to help Manchester United defeat Tottenham on Saturday.

It was Ronaldo’s first hat-trick since returning to Old Trafford in the 2021 summer.

Overall, it was the Portuguese forward’s second hat-trick wearing the Manchester United shirt. The last time Ronaldo scored three goals in a match for the Red Devils was in 2008 against Newcastle United, according to Opta Joe.

It was Ronaldo’s 49th hat-trick of his club career. Ronaldo (37 years and 35 days) also became the second-oldest player in Premier League history to net a treble after Teddy Sheringham in August 2003 (37 years and 146 days).

Overall, Ronaldo holds the record of most hat-tricks in professional soccer as he now has 59 hat-tricks to his account, five more than Lionel Messi, according to Goal.com.

With 29 hat-tricks, Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski is third in the list of most professional hat-tricks. Atletico Madrid’s Luis Suarez (21) and Tottenham’s Harry Kane (18) complete the top five of the list.

The last time Messi recorded a hat-trick was in September 2021. He netted three goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Bolivia in the FIFA World Cup qualification South America. The former FC Barcelona captain is yet to score a treble for his current club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He moved from Barcelona to PSG as a free agent in the summer of 2021.

Messi has been struggling to find form in Paris as the Argentinian forward has only managed seven goals so far this season. Contradicting Messi’s run in the 2021-22 campaign, Ronaldo is having a fine run in his home season at Manchester United.

ronaldo messi
Sir Alex Ferguson chose Cristiano Ronaldo, left, over Lionel Messi, right, when discussing who's the better of the Ballon d'Or winners. Getty Images

The Portuguese star has netted 18 goals and three assists for Manchester United in 32 competitive appearances. His hat-trick against Spurs handed the Red Devils their 400th Premier League home win. Manchester United became the first-ever team to reach the milestone in the competition.

Moreover, the three goals at Old Trafford on Saturday also saw Ronaldo become the all-time leading goal scorer in professional soccer with 807 goals. He surpassed Austro-Czech forward Josef Bican, who scored 805 goals.

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