Cristiano Ronaldo: How many hat-tricks has Manchester United forward scored in his career?

The Portuguese hit a treble at Old Trafford to down Tottenham and boost the Red Devils’ top four hopes

(REUTERS)

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his first hat-trick since returning to Manchester United, inspiring a 3-2 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford.

The win boosts Ralf Rangnick’s side’s hopes of securing a top four finish and Champions League football next season.

United are now fourth and two points ahead of Arsenal, though the Gunners have four games in hand.

Ronaldo’s first-half double, including a powerful opener from long-range and a close-range finish, secured a Fifa record as the all-time top scorer in men’s football across both club and international matches.

And he took that total to 807 before the game was out, with his 18th goal across all competitions for the club this season.

Ronaldo has scored five times for Sporting Lisbon, 136 times for United, 450 goals for Real Madrid, 101 at Juventus and 115 goals representing Portugal.

It was also his 49th club career hat-trick, with 59 in total for club and country across his 20-year career.

That's a hat-trick every 18.8 matches on average for Ronaldo.

That club and country total is the most of any active player and now four clear of Lionel Messi (55).

His incredible performance was taken in at Old Trafford by Tom Brady, with the legendary NFL quarterback, who recently retired, applauding the Portuguese and revealing his support for the Red Devils.

On commentary for Sky Sports, Gary Neville described Ronaldo as “the greatest goalscorer of all time”.