5 youngest hat-trick scorers in Europe's top five leagues since 2000
For the longest time in football, age has been a relatively important factor in determining the quality and level of productivity of players. There are, however, a number of players who have defied these norms and started delivering quality performances from a very tender age.
Pele played a starring role and led Brazil to glory in the 1958 FIFA World Cup as a 17-year-old despite having a number of more experienced players ahead of him. Similarly, Kylian Mbappe was only 19 when he helped France to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In 2004, Wayne Rooney broke out as a 16-year-old in the English Premier League for Everton, scoring the winner against Arsenal and breaking their 30-game unbeaten run.
Some very young players have achieved the feat of earning their first match ball very early in their careers. Here is a list of the five youngest players to do it in Europe's top five leagues since 2000.
#5 Giovani Dos Santos- 19 years and six days
Giovani Dos Santos was nurtured at the famed La Masia academy that produced Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi, among others. He received one of the best educations available for a young footballer. The Mexican teenager broke through and made his debut for FC Barcelona in the 2007-08 season, playing 38 times in all competitions.
🔵🔴 DID YOU KNOW? Barça's last visit to @realmurciacfsad was a 5-3 win in 2007/08. Giovani Dos Santos scored a hat-trick that day https://t.co/l9xUBc4Ceq
The gifted attacker eventually left the club at the end of the season for Tottenham Hotspur in search of regular football but delivered a spectacle on his final appearance for Barcelona.
Dos Santos scored a hat-trick for Barcelona just six days after his 19th birthday as they swept Real Murcia aside 5-3 in his last appearance. It was the Mexican's first and only hat-trick of his senior career so far.
#4 Francesco Grandolfo - 18 years, 9 months, and 26 days
Francesco Grandolfo makes the list as the fourth-youngest player to score a hat-trick in Europe's top five leagues since 2000. He was making his full debut for AS Bari in the Italian Serie A when he struck a hat-trick in their 4-0 win over Bologna in May 2011.
1 - Francesco Grandolfo has scored a hat-trick in his first start for Bari in Serie A. Future
The 18-year-old striker could not save the club from getting relegated, however, as their fate was already sealed before the match. He moved to Chievo Verona shortly after and currently plies his trade in Serie C with Monopoli.