In this post, we will check out the top 4 players with the most Champions League Hat Tricks.
In soccer circles, the Champions League is about as big as it gets. Yes, the World Cup will always represent the pinnacle of an international playing career, but in the club game, it is all about the most prestigious of continental prizes.
Some of the greatest players to have ever laced up a pair of boots have graced such a stage, with a list of previous winners reading like a who’s who of all-time greats.
Plenty more would-be superstars will be hoping to add their individual entries to that distinguished roll of honor in the years to come.
Players With The Most Champions League Hat Tricks
Trophies
In order to get collective hands on the most famous of trophies, match-winners need to be found somewhere.
When it comes to Champions League odds, which are topped by +163 shots Manchester City in 2022-23, goalscorers are worth their weight in gold – or silverware in this case.
Champions League predictions will forever side with those that boast the most firepower, with nobody having ever won anything based on defensive steel alone.
With that in mind, which iconic performers have shown themselves to be the most destructive in the final third by registering record-setting hauls of hat tricks?
Lionel Messi – 8
Widely recognized to be soccer’s GOAT, Messi’s first hat trick came against Arsenal in April 2010 – when he actually netted four times.
The following season he netted a treble against Viktoria Plzen and plundered five goals in a 7-1 demolition of Bayer Leverkusen.
He was at it again versus Ajax in September 2013, APOEL a little over a year later, and in a meeting with Celtic in the autumn of 2016.
Another match ball was secured when facing Manchester City a few weeks later, while his most recent hat trick was delivered for Barcelona in a September 2018 clash with PSV.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 8
Not to be outdone by an eternal rival, Ronaldo also has eight European match balls to his name. He broke his duck for Real Madrid against Ajax in October 2012, before repeating the trick 11 months later against Galatasaray.
In September 2015, three efforts were put past Shakhtar Donetsk and four beyond Malmo in the same group stage. Another hat trick was hit against Wolfsburg in April 2016, while a purple patch in the spring of 2017 saw Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid stunned within a matter of weeks. Ronaldo’s last treble was recorded for Juventus against Atletico in March 2019.
Robert Lewandowski – 6
Claimed his first treble in style when putting four past Real Madrid in 2013, but had to wait until September 2015 before grabbing another hat trick in a meeting with Dinamo Zagreb.
It was November 2019 before Lewandowski landed a third match ball, this time against Red Star Belgrade. A productive 12 months were then enjoyed between November 2021 and September 2022 as the prolific Pole bagged hat-tricks for Bayern Munich against Benfica and Red Bull Salzburg before grabbing his first for Barcelona when facing Viktoria Plzen.
Karim Benzema – 4
The Ballon d’Or winner for 2022, French frontman Benzema hit hat-tricks in back-to-back knockout games against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea to help him to a Golden Ball.
His last treble prior to that had come in December 2015 against Malmo, while his first Champions League match ball was picked up in a meeting with Auxerre from December 2010.
Legends
Some iconic names figure on the list of most potent hat-trick marksmen in Champions League history, with it apparent that legend status in the world game is required in order to get anywhere close to the top of a star-studded chart that should become even more glittering as the seasons go by.
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