With his latest Manchester United hat-trick, Cristiano Ronaldo pulls away from Lionel Messi.
With his latest exploits for Manchester United on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo once again shown why he is in a class of his own.
The five-time winner Ballon d'Or is widely considered to be one of the best footballers of all time, having set several records during his career. The 37-year-old became the all-time leading goalscorer earlier this year, and he shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Ronaldo was at his best once again on Saturday, scoring a hat-trick to lead United to a 3-2 win over Norwich at Old Trafford. As he tucked away a poacher's finish, jumped highest to head in his second, then hammered home a superb free-kick for his third, his treble displayed all of the qualities that have made him one of the greats.
He scored a hat-trick for the second time in three league appearances for United, having done so after sparking the Reds to a 3-2 victory against Tottenham last month. Not only that, but it transformed him into a great figure in his field.
He now has 60 career hat-tricks after his treble against Norwich, the most of any active player. This puts him five points ahead of Lionel Messi, his long-time adversary.
Ronaldo's latest hat-trick comes 14 years after he scored his first and only hat-trick at United. It was in a spectacular 6-0 victory over Newcastle United at Old Trafford in 2008.
From then, he went on to score 44 hat-tricks for Real Madrid, three more for Juventus, and ten for Portugal while on international service. Ronaldo has scored two additional goals since returning to Old Trafford last summer, demonstrating that his hunger for goals is far from ended.