"Time to unbalance the scale" - Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo makes brilliant claim after scoring 60th career hat-trick
Manchester United ace Cristiano Ronaldo made a brilliant claim after netting his 60th career hat-trick.
The 37-year-old scored all three Manchester United goals in a nervy 3-2 win over Norwich City on Saturday in the Premier League.
It was his second treble of the season, having also struck thrice against Tottenham Hotspur in March. The Portuguese star has now struck 60 hat-tricks for club and country, five more than his arch-rival Lionel Messi.
A breakdown of Cristiano Ronaldo's 60 career hat-tricks 🤯 https://t.co/HEdM8qHz8b
Quite incredibly, exactly half of those hat-tricks have come in the last seven years since he turned 30, having netted only 30 before that.
Ronaldo posted an encouraging message on social media after his latest goalscoring feat:
"30 hat-tricks before 30 and 30 hat-tricks after 30. It’s time to unbalance the scale!"
🏽
30 hat-tricks before 30 and 30 hat-tricks after 30. It’s time to unbalance the scale! 💪🏽 https://t.co/McgGZBmzyh
He's clearly aiming for more, and no one would bet against that considering the five-time Ballon d'Or winner wants to play on for a few more years.
During his first stint with Manchester United, Ronaldo netted just one hat-trick - against Newcastle United in 2008.
However, at Real Madrid, where he enjoyed the most productive spell of his career, the talismanic forward netted an incredible 44 hat-tricks.
60 - Cristiano Ronaldo has scored the 60th hat-trick of his professional career for club and country (50th at club level), with today’s direct free-kick goal the 58th of his career. Phenom. https://t.co/qr40Yr7jXi
He scored another three for Juventus and two more for the Red Devils since returning last summer, making it 50 hat-trick in club football.
It's worth noting that both his latest hat-tricks have come in successive home appearances, the first Manchester United player to achieve it and the first Premier League player since Sergio Aguero in 2019.
Ronaldo, who also boasts a mighty 115 goals with Portugal, has scored ten hat-tricks on the international stage.
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo is hungry for more
If anything, Ronaldo's latest message is an assertion that he's hungry for more goals.
Despite witnessing a drop in form since the turn of the year, the 37-year-old boasts 21 goals this season for United, including 15 in the league.
Just for context, only Mohamed Salah (20) and Son Heung-min (17) have more at this stage of the campaign.
Back-to-back hat-tricks at home will surely boost his confidence after a dry spell and might as well trigger a hot streak.
With 810 goals, he's the most prolific scorer in history, but Ronaldo wants more, a testament to his unquenching thirst for glory.