Messi 2nd, Kane 5th - Which players have the most hat-tricks in Europe's top five leagues?

Harry Kane and Bayern Munich got back to winning ways on Saturday, when they welcomed a strong Stuttgart side to the Allianz Arena and subsequently set about claiming all three points with an impressive performance. In a season that new head coach Vincent Kompany will be desperate to win the Bundesliga title, a huge amount of pressure has been placed on Bayern to bounce back from a poor 23/24 campaign with big wins over their domestic rivals. And that’s exactly what the Munich giants did, with four goals in total and, crucially, an impressive hat-trick from their English talisman. 

The 23-minute goal bonanza from Kane not only ensured all three points for his club, but also meant that the former Tottenham star has now scored 57 goals in 55 games for Bayern since making the move to Germany last summer for €95 million. Not only is that a remarkable figure for any striker in the modern game, but it’s also bolstered by an impressive number of hat-tricks. Saturday’s three goals now means that Kane has scored six league hat-tricks since making the move to the Bundesliga. And when we add that to his record in England, it points to one of European football’s most accomplished strikers.

 

Which strikers have the most hat-tricks in Europe’s top five leagues?

When we add Kane’s six hat-tricks in the Bundesliga to his eight in the Premier League for Tottenham, it puts the 31-year-old forward on 14 career hat-tricks in Europe’s top five leagues since 1990. And, remarkably, only four players can lay claim to more. In fourth place is Luis Suárez, who bagged 16 in total during his time at Barcelona (10 league hat-tricks), Liverpool (six) and Atletico (zero). Just ahead of the Uruguay star is Kane’s predecessor at Bayern, Robert Lewandowski, who is currently sitting on 18 hat-tricks after bagging two at Borussia Dortmund, 14 at Bayern and a further two at Barcelona thus far. Interestingly enough, considering Kane’s current trend of a hat-trick roughly every nine games in the Bundesliga, it’s not impossible to imagine the England striker overtaking both Suárez and Lewandowski before the end of his career. 

To no great surprise, the two players that sit above these outstanding attacking talents are none other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine superstar sits second on our list, having bagged an incredible 36 hat-tricks during his time in European football, which is twice that of Lewandowski in third place. Interestingly enough, all of Messi’s hat-tricks came at Barcelona, with his spell at Paris Saint-Germain failing to provide a single one. To the chagrin of Messi fans, Ronaldo beats out his generational rival with three extra hat-tricks than Messi during his time in European football. And while Messi scored all of his during his spell in Spain, Ronaldo bagged two at Juventus and three at Manchester United, alongside his 34 at Real Madrid. Be sure to flick through the gallery above to see a list of the top 15 players by hat-tricks scored in Europe’s top five leagues.