The Top 20 Players with the Most Hat-Tricks in Football History
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely regarded as two of the greatest footballers of all time, but neither holds the record for the most hat-tricks in football history. As of now, Messi has scored 59 career hat-tricks, while Ronaldo has managed 66. These numbers are impressive, but they fall short of cracking the top 20.
According to statistics gathered by the RSSSF, here are the 20 players who have scored more hat-tricks than both Messi and Ronaldo:
20. Franz Binder – 67 Hat-Tricks
Binder is considered one of the greatest Austrian players of all time. He reportedly scored 67 hat-tricks during his career, primarily while playing for Rapid Wien between 1930 and 1949.
=18. Romario – 70 Hat-Tricks
While there is some debate over the exact number of goals Romario scored, the RSSSF credits him with 70 hat-tricks in official matches. Four of these came for Brazil on the international stage, with the remaining 66 at the club level.
=18. Ferenc Puskás – 70 Hat-Tricks
Puskás, a legendary Hungarian forward, is known for scoring 802 goals throughout his career. He also managed to score 70 hat-tricks. He was the first player to score a hat-trick at both the Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou. Sir Tom Finney once praised Puskás, saying, “He had a roly ply physique but a wonderful left foot and he was a brilliant finisher.”
17. Fritz Walter – 71 Hat-Tricks
Walter played for FC Kaiserslautern and scored 71 hat-tricks during his career, which spanned from 1937 to 1959.
16. Gerd Müller – 72 Hat-Tricks
Müller, one of the best strikers of all time, scored 72 hat-tricks in his career. He also netted eight hat-tricks for Germany, including two at the 1970 World Cup.
15. Sammy Hughes – 73 Hat-Tricks
Hughes spent his entire professional career with Glentoran in Northern Ireland, where he scored 73 hat-tricks during the 1950s.
=13. Imre Schlosser – 74 Hat-Tricks
Schlosser is the third-highest scorer in the history of the Hungarian top flight, with 368 goals. He also scored 74 hat-tricks, mostly for Ferencvaros and MTK Hungaria.
=13. Otto Harder – 74 Hat-Tricks
Harder played between 1909 and 1934, with his peak years at Hamburger. He scored the majority of his hat-tricks for the club.
=11. Tommy Lawton – 76 Hat-Tricks
Lawton played for Everton, Chelsea, and Arsenal, scoring 76 hat-tricks between 1936 and 1956. He also scored 22 goals in 23 games for England.
=11. Boy Martin – 76 Hat-Tricks
Martin played for Wolves, Nottingham Forest, and Notts County. He scored 76 hat-tricks, which is 10 more than Ronaldo currently has.
10. Frederick Roberts – 77 Hat-Tricks
Roberts played for Glentoran, Newington Rangers, and Broadway United. He is estimated to have scored over 600 goals, including 77 hat-tricks.
9. Fernando Peyroteo – 80 Hat-Tricks
Peyroteo spent his entire career with Sporting between 1937 and 1949. He is the club’s highest-ever goal scorer with 544 goals in official matches.
=7. Joseph Bambrick – 86 Hat-Tricks
Bambrick played for Linfield in the early 1930s and also had stints with Chelsea, Walsall, and Glentoran, scoring 86 hat-tricks in total.
=7. Ronnie Rooke – 86 Hat-Tricks
Rooke scored the majority of his goals during wartime matches for Fulham while serving in the RAF. He also played for Arsenal and Crystal Palace, scoring 934 goals in total.
6. Pelé – 88 Hat-Tricks
Although there is some dispute over the exact number of goals Pelé scored, the RSSSF credits him with 88 hat-tricks in official matches. He scored his first professional hat-trick at 16 for Santos and never looked back. In 2023, Guinness World Records recognized Pelé as the player with the most hat-tricks in football history, though the RSSSF lists five players with more.
5. Jimmy Jones – 91 Hat-Tricks
Jones played between 1943 and 1965 and is estimated to have scored around 840 goals. He averaged 1.1 goals per game and scored 91 hat-tricks according to the RSSSF.
4. Ernst Wilimowski – 96 Hat-Tricks
Wilimowski scored 1079 goals during his career, which spanned from 1932 to 1956. He is nicknamed “Ezi” and played mainly in Germany, scoring just under 100 hat-tricks in official matches.
3. Ferenc Deák – 97 Hat-Tricks
Deák is the eighth-highest-scoring player of all time, with 795 goals in official matches. He played for Szentlorinci and scored 97 hat-tricks during his career.
2. Josef Bican – 137 Hat-Tricks
Bican scored just shy of 1000 goals in official matches, with 950 to his name. He once scored five consecutive hat-tricks in five matches in 1940, a record that still stands. He is credited with 137 hat-tricks, placing him second on this list.
1. Erwin Helmchen – 142 Hat-Tricks
Helmchen is estimated to have scored 142 hat-tricks, which is 76 more than Ronaldo and 83 more than Messi. With 989 career goals, he is recognized by the RSSSF as the highest-scoring player in football history, although most of his goals were scored in the German lower divisions.
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