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Lionel Messi overtakes Cristiano Ronaldo to top Champions League hat-trick list

Lionel Messi of Barcelona celebrates scoring his third and his side's fifth goal with team mates

By Oliver Yew

Wednesday 14 September 2016 00:12, UK

Lionel Messi has now scored the most hat-tricks in Champions League history after his treble against Celtic took him past Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Argentina international scored his sixth Champions League hat-trick in Barcelona's 7-0 thrashing of Celtic to take the outright lead in his head-to-head battle with Ronaldo.

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And Barca coach Luis Enrique was full of praise for the 29-year-old.

"Messi's the best player in the world, at whatever position he plays," Enrique said. "Messi is total football."

Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring for Barcelona against Celtic
Image: Messi has the most hat-tricks in Champions league history

Ronaldo has the chance to respond when Real Madrid take on Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League opener at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.

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Most hat-tricks in Champions League history

Player Teams No. of hat-tricks
Lionel Messi Barcelona 6
Cristiano Ronaldo Man Utd, Real Madrid 5
Mario Gomez Bayern Munich 3
Filippo Inzaghi Juventus, AC Milan 3
Luiz Adriano Shakhtar Donetsk 3
Adriano Inter Milan 2
Karim Benzema Lyon, Real Madrid 2
Andy Cole Manchester United 2
Didier Drogba Marseille, Chelsea 2
Samuel Eto'o Barcelona, Internazionale 2
Roy Makaay Deportivo La Coruna, Bayern Munich 2
Michael Owen Liverpool, Manchester United 2
Marco Simone Milan, Monaco 2
Andriy Shevchenko Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan 2
Ruud van Nistelrooy PSV, Man Utd 2
Roberto Soldado Valencia 2
Robert Lewandowski Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich 2

The Portugal international does top one list though as he is the current top scorer in Champions League and European Cup history with 93 goals to his name, plus one he scored in qualifying.

Cristiano Ronaldo made his first Real Madrid appearance of the season at the weekend
Image: Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the list and has the chance to draw level with Messi when Real Madrid take on Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday

European Cup/Champions League all-time top scorers (inc. qualifying goals)

Player Teams Goals
Cristiano Ronaldo 94
Lionel Messi Barcelona 86
Raul Real Madrid, Schalke 71
Ruud van Nistlerooy PSV, Man Utd, Real Madrid 60
Andriy Shevchenko Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan, Chelsea 59
Thierry Henry Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona 51
Filippo Inzaghi Juventus, AC Milan 50
Alfredo di Stefano Real Madrid 49
Zlatan Ibrahimovic Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG 49
Eusebio Benfica 47

Barcelona rival, Messi is in second spot on the list with 86 while Real Madrid legend Raul scored 71.

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