From his first hat-trick to the 67-goal mark

On Friday (30 October), in a 5–3 victory over Al-Kholood in the Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo scored three times to take his career tally to 985 goals. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now just 15 goals away from the much-coveted 1,000-goal milestone.

The hat-trick also brought to 67 the number of times CR7 has scored at least three goals in a single match throughout his nearly 25-year professional career.

The first such occasion took place on 12 January 2008. On that occasion, the Portuguese player, then aged 22, led Manchester United to a 6–0 thrashing of Newcastle United in the Premier League. Months later, he would go on to win the first of his five Ballon d'Or trophies.

Since then, many goals have followed, but it was whilst wearing the Real Madrid shirt that Ronaldo celebrated a hat-trick on the most occasions.

The teams that have suffered most at the hands of CR7

For which team has Cristiano Ronaldo scored the most hat-tricks?

  1. Real Madrid – 44 hat-tricks

  2. Portugal national team – 10 hat-tricks

  3. Al-Nassr – 7 hat-tricks

  4. Juventus / Manchester United – 3 hat-tricks each

  5. Sporting CP – no hat-tricks

Real Madrid lead by a wide margin, with 44 hat-tricks during the nearly ten years the Portuguese player spent at the club. The Portugal national team comes second, followed by Al-Nassr.

But on some occasions, even three goals were not enough for Ronaldo.

When three goals weren’t enough

In 11 matches, CR7 went beyond the hat-trick. In nine of them, he scored four goals. In the other two, both in 2015, he reached an impressive five goals in a single match, his personal best.

When did Cristiano Ronaldo score more than three goals in a single match?

  • Real Madrid 6–1 Racing Santander (La Liga, 23 October 2010) – 4 goals

  • Real Madrid 6–2 Sevilla (La Liga, 7 May 2011) – 4 goals

  • Real Madrid 5–1 Elche (La Liga, 23 September 2014) – 4 goals

  • Real Madrid 9–1 Granada (La Liga, 5 April 2015) – 5 goals

  • Real Madrid 6–0 Espanyol (La Liga, 12 September 2015) – 5 goals

  • Real Madrid 8–0 Malmö (Champions League, 8 December 2015) – 4 goals

  • Real Madrid 7–1 Celta de Vigo (5 March 2016) – 4 goals

  • Portugal 6–0 Andorra (World Cup qualifiers, 7 October 2016) – 4 goals

  • Real Madrid 6–3 Girona (La Liga, 18 March 2018) – 4 goals

  • Portugal 5–1 Lithuania (Euro Qualifiers, 10 September 2019) – 4 goals

  • Al-Nassr 4–0 Al-Wehda (Saudi League, 9 February 2023) – 4 goals

2011: the year of the hat-tricks

The figures also reveal that 2011 was Ronaldo’s most prolific year in this regard, with nine hat-tricks. Close behind come 2013, when he won his second Ballon d'Or, and 2015, both with eight.

In which year did Cristiano Ronaldo score the most hat-tricks?

  1. 2011 – 9 hat-tricks

  2. 2013 / 2015 – 8 hat-tricks

  3. 2016 – 7 hat-tricks

  4. 2010 / 2012 / 2014 / 2019 – 4 hat-tricks

  5. 2017 / 2018 / 2023 / 2024 – 3 hat-tricks

  6. 2021 / 2022 – 2 hat-tricks

  7. 2008 / 2020 / 2026 – 1 hat-trick

  8. 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2009 / 2025 – no hat-tricks

A goal-scoring machine, year after year

Throughout his 25 years as a professional footballer, Ronaldo scored at least one hat-trick in 17 different years. There were only eight years in which he failed to repeat the feat.

Even more impressive is his run between 2010 and 2024: 15 consecutive years of scoring at least one hat-trick per season.

At 41, CR7 continues to do what he has always done best: find the back of the net and push the boundaries of what is possible. With 67 hat-tricks and 985 career goals, the 1,000-goal mark is drawing ever closer. And if Ronaldo’s story has taught us anything, it is that the time to stop counting has not yet come.