Which player scored the most hat tricks in football?
How many hat-tricks did Messi score in his career?
Which footballer has the most career hat tricks of all time?
Who is the greatest footballer of all time?

Messi Hat-tricks for Argentina:
In 128 official appearances for Argentina Messi has scored 6 hat-tricks, i.e., 1 hat-trick per 21.33 ≈ 21 matches.
4 of them came in friendly matches against Switzerland, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti
1 against Ecuador in world Cup qualifying round
1 against Panama in Copa America
Breakdown: In 43 friendlies Messi has scored 30 times including 4 hat-tricks. 1 hat-trick in every 10.75 ≈ 11 matches. In 85 competitive matches Messi has scored 35 times including 2 hat-tricks. 1 hat-trick in every 42.5 ≈ 43 matches.
In 4 World Cup tournaments Messi played 19 matches, did not score any hat-trick.

Pele Hat-tricks for Brazil:
In 92 official appearances for Brazil Pele scored 7 hat-tricks, i.e., 1 hat-trick per 13.14 ≈ 13 matches. The 1st one came in the 1958 world cup semi finals against France and the last one was against Belgium in 1965 in a friendly. Between June 24, 1958 and June 02, 1965 – in a span of 7 years Pele scored 7 international hat-tricks in just 36 matches.
3 of them in friendly matches against United Arab Republic (Egypt), France and Belgium.
1 against France in World Cup 1958
1 against Paraguay in Copa America 1959
1 against Chile in O’Higgins Cup, 1959
1 against Argentina in Roca Cup, 1963
Breakdown: In 50 friendlies Pele has scored 34 times including 3 hat-tricks. 1 hat-trick in every 16.67≈ 17 matches. In 42 competitive matches Pele has scored 43 times including 4 hat-tricks. 1 hat-trick in every 10.5 ≈ 11 matches.
In 4 World Cups Pele played 14 matches and scored a hat-trick against France in the semifinal of 1958 World Cup.

Messi Hat-tricks for Barcelona:
With Barcelona, i.e. in his club career, Messi played 701 matches scoring 596 goals with 44 hat-tricks. He scored 32 hat-tricks in La liga (4 goals 4 times), 8 hat-tricks in the Champions League (5 goals once, 4 goals once), 3 hat-tricks in Copa del Rey and 1 in Spanish Super Cup.

Pele Hat-tricks for Santos/NY Cosmos:
At the club level, in 725 official matches Pele scored 79 hat-tricks. He scored 3 goals 51 times, 4 goals 23 times, 5 goals 4 times and 8 goals one time.

Messi Hat-tricks – Career Total (Official Matches):
In total, including both club and international matches, Messi played 829 matches and scored 661 goals. He scored 50 hat-tricks in these official matches, which means a hat-trick in every 16.58 ≈ 17 matches. He has scored 3 goals 44 times, 4 goals 5 times and 5 goals once.

Pele Hat-tricks – Career Total (Official Matches):
In total, including both club and international matches, in 817 official matches Pele scored 758 goals. He scored 86 hat-tricks in these official matches, which means a hat-trick in every 9.5 ≈ 10 matches. He scored 3 goals 58 times, 4 goals 23 times, 5 goals 4 times and 8 goals one time.

Pele Hat-tricks – Unofficial Matches:
In addition, Pele scored a hat-trick against the 1965-66 La Liga champion Atletico Madrid in 1966 while playing for Brazil national team.

Pele scored 4 hat-tricks against Czechoslovakia, Senegal, Congo and Hong Kong while playing for his club teams Santos and New York Cosmos. These are matches in which Pele’s club played against a national team.


Pele Hat-tricks – Career Total (Official and Unofficial Matches):
In 114 matches for Brazil, Pele scored 8 hat-tricks. In 138 matches against national teams he scored 11 hat-tricks. His total in both half and full internationals (i.e. playing against national teams) for club and country is 147 goals in 160 matches (12 hat-tricks).

When all official and unofficial matches are considered, Pele scored 123 hat-tricks. He scored 3 goals 85 times, 4 goals 31 times, 5 goals 6 times 8 goals once.


Note: Messi’s record is as of 26.02.2019