4 outstanding records Cristiano Ronaldo shares with Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are living out the sporting rivalry of a lifetime. The two players have consistently divided the opinions of fans and critics since first making their presence felt in the stage of world football.
Their battle for supremacy has attained legendary status so far and in the last decade, no player has come close to matching the footballing qualities of the Argentinean as well as the Portuguese. In their quest for excellence, the two of them have left behind a trail of records that continue to separate them from the rest of the league.
The Argentine and the Portuguese have the record-books full of their names, but despite their inherent competition, there is a mutual respect that they share for each other. Also, there are quite a few records that belong to the two of them and today, we take a look at 4 outstanding records that Ronaldo shares with Messi.
Also Read: 3 Manchester United records Cristiano Ronaldo holds till date
#4 Most La Liga hat-tricks in a season
Messi set the record for the most hat-tricks in a La Liga season in his awe-inspiring 2011/12 season, where the Argentinean scored 50 goals from 37 games in the league. The Barcelona No. 10 scored his first hat-trick of the league against Osasuna in September. He was on fire again a week later, scoring his second hat-trick in the 5-0 demolition of Atletico Madrid.
He had scored 2 more hat-tricks against Mallorca and Malaga before the end of the year. Messi scored 4 more hat-tricks in the second half of the season, against Valencia, Granada, Malaga, and Espanyol, finishing the season with 8 hat-tricks, the first time a footballer had managed that in the top division in Spain. However, he would soon be joined by his rival at the podium.
The Portuguese managed to touch Messi’s record in the 2014/15 season, scoring 8 hat-tricks for Real Madrid in the La Liga. Ronaldo started the season with 3 goal hauls against Deportivo La Coruna and Elche in September. The Portuguese scored his 3rd and 4th hat-trick of the season against Atletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo in October and December of the year respectively.
However, it took him until April to score his 5th hat-trick of the season, this time against Granada. Ronaldo ended the season with a bang, scoring 3 hat-tricks in May, against Sevilla, Espanyol, and Getafe, in the process equaling Messi’s record.