The great Eric Cantona captured a piece of Premier League history when he scored a hat-trick for Leeds United in a 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on August 25, 1992. He became the first player to bag a hat-trick in the newly reformed top flight of English soccer. Cantona went on to score many stunning goals during his stay at Leeds and then Manchester United, but he could not capitalize on his early lead and go down as the player with the most hat-tricks in the Premier League. Frustratingly for the Frenchman, a Manchester City icon has that record, and he is likely to keep it for the foreseeable future.
Continue reading to meet the chart-topper and his nine peers on this list of most hat-tricks scored in Premier League history.
Data via: Opta
#10 Robin Van Persie (Arsenal/Manchester United): 5 Hat-Tricks
A villain in the eyes of Arsenal fans and a rebellious hero for Manchester United supporters, Robin van Persie scored five Premier League hat-tricks over the course of his illustrious career. Three of his five trebles came for the Gunners and the remaining two for the Red Devils.
Van Persie scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal in a 3-0 win over Wigan Athletic in January 2011. His second and third trebles came in the 2011-12 season, against Chelsea (5-3, October 2011) and Blackburn Rovers (7-1, February 2012), respectively.
After spending eight long seasons with the north Londoners, the Dutchman signed for rivals Manchester United in August 2012. Both his trebles for United came in his debut season, against Southampton (3-2, September 2012) and Aston Villa (3-0, April 2013), respectively. His 26 goals in 38 games proved to be crucial as United clinched their 20th English title at the end of the season.
Overall, Van Persie played 280 Premier League games, recording 144 goals and 53 assists. He won two Golden Boots during his stay, one with Arsenal (2011-12) and the other with United (2012-13).
#9 Andrew Cole (Newcastle United/Manchester United): 5 Hat-Tricks
Scoring an impressive five hat-tricks in the Premier League, former Newcastle United, Manchester United, Bolton Wanderers, Fulham, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest star Andrew Cole has claimed the ninth spot in the rankings. Although Cole played for six EPL sides, his hat-tricks came for the Magpies and the Red Devils, with the Englishman scoring two trebles for the former and three for the latter.
Cole scored his first Premier League hat-trick in Newcastle’s memorable 3-0 win over Liverpool in November 1993. Three months later, he secured his second match ball, courtesy of another spellbinding display in a 4-0 win over Coventry City. His first-ever hat-trick for Manchester United was also his most memorable, as he scored a whopping five times in a 9-0 victory over Ipswich Town. Cole’s final Premier League hat-trick came against his old club Newcastle United in August 1999. He scored four goals to propel the Mancunians to a rewarding 5-1 win.
The former England center-forward played 414 Premier League matches in his career, scoring 187 times and providing 73 assists. The 1993-94 Golden Boot winner won five English top-flight titles under Sir Alex Ferguson.
#8 Luis Suarez (Liverpool): 6 Hat-Tricks
Unlike most players on this list, Luis Suarez did not enjoy a prolonged stay in the Premier League. He joined Liverpool from Ajax in January 2011 and left for Barcelona in July 2014. In those three-and-a-half seasons, the Uruguayan played 110 Premier League matches, scoring 69 goals, including six hat-tricks. He won the Golden Boot in the 2013-14 season, scoring an impressive 31 goals in 33 appearances.
Suarez scored his first hat-trick for the Merseysiders in a 3-0 win over Norwich City in April 2012. In September, Suarez scored his second treble, once again against Norwich, but in a 5-2 routing. The Inter Miami ace scored three hat-tricks in the 2013-14 season, as Liverpool narrowly missed out on the Premier League title.
#7 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United/Everton): 7 Hat-Tricks
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney is the seventh name on this list, with the ex-England international scoring an impressive seven hat-tricks during his memorable Premier League career. Rooney’s first of seven EPL hat-tricks for the Red Devils came in a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in October 2006. In the 2011-12 season, Rooney scored trebles in consecutive league outings, first in a historic 8-2 win over Arsenal and then in a 5-0 routing of Bolton. The 38-year-old’s final Premier League hat-trick, which included a stunning long-range goal from his own half, came for Everton in a 4-0 win over West Ham United in November 2016.
Rooney, who won five Premier League titles with the Mancunians, played 491 matches in the English top flight, scoring 208 times and claiming 103 assists. Despite being one of the three players with more than 200 Premier League goals, Rooney never won the Golden Boot.
#6 Michael Owen (Liverpool/Newcastle United): 8 Hat-Tricks
The last Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or (2001), Michael Owen scored eight Premier League hat-tricks in his career — seven for his boyhood club Liverpool and one for Newcastle United. The ex-Real Madrid and Manchester United forward scored three hat-tricks before he turned 18, with the first one coming in Liverpool’s 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday on Valentine’s Day of 1998. He had seven hat-tricks to his name before he turned 24 and scored the final one shortly after he turned 26 (Newcastle United). Owen had the potential to go down as the most prolific forward in Premier League history but an ill-fated move to Real Madrid in 2004, followed by career-defining injuries kept him from fulfilling his potential.
Before hanging up his boots in July 2013, Owen played 326 Premier League matches, scoring 150 times and providing 31 assists. He won two Golden Boots (1997-98, 1998-99) during his time at Anfield but his only Premier League title arrived as a Manchester United player in the 2010-11 season.
#5 Thierry Henry (Arsenal): 8 Hat-Tricks
One of the best foreign players in Premier League history, Thierry Henry bagged eight hat-tricks for Arsenal, all of them at the Gunners’ former home, Highbury.
The French legend scored his first hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Leicester City in December 2000. His second one came around two years later, in a 3-1 victory over West Ham United in January 2003. Henry also scored two trebles during Arsenal’s Invincible 2003-04 season, first against Liverpool and then Leeds United in a span of seven days in April 2004.
The ex-Barcelona man played 258 Premier League matches in his career, scoring 175 times and providing 74 assists. The two-time English champion (2001-02, 2003-04) is the only player in history to win four Golden Boots (2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06).
#4 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur): 8 Hat-Tricks
The only active player on this list of elites, Harry Kane scored eight hat-tricks for boyhood club Tottenham Hotspur before leaving for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023. The England ace scored his first two trebles in 2015 — in a 4-3 win over Leicester City in March and a 5-1 victory over Bournemouth in October. He did not add to his tally in 2016 but scored an unbelievable six hat-tricks in 2017, setting a record that may very well stand the test of time.
Kane played 320 Premier League matches before his exit, scoring 213 times and claiming 46 assists. He won three Golden Boots (2015-16, 2016-17, 2020-21), one Playmaker Award (2020-21), and seven Player of the Month Awards.
#3 Robbie Fowler (Liverpool/Leeds United): 9 Hat-Tricks
Liverpool icon Robbie Fowler played for four Premier League clubs. He started with the Reds, then joined Leeds United, then switched to Manchester City, returned to Anfield, and finished at Bolton Wanderers. Fowler scored nine Premier League hat-tricks throughout his career, eight of which came for the Merseysiders and one for the Whites. Fowler’s last hat-trick came for Leeds in a 3-0 win over Bolton in December 2001.
Fowler played 379 matches in the Premier League across the four clubs, scoring a cool 163 times and providing 39 assists. He neither won the title nor the Golden Boot, but won consecutive Player of the Month awards in December 1995 and January 1996.
#2 Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers/Newcastle United): 11 Hat-Tricks
Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer scored a whopping 11 hat-tricks in the Premier League between 1992-93 and 2005-06 seasons. Interestingly, a whopping eight of his 11 trebles came in a space of 16 months between November 1994 and March 1996. In total, Shearer scored nine hat-tricks for Blackburn Rovers between 1992-93 and 1995-96. He won the Premier League title in 1994-95 and the Golden Boot in his last two seasons at the club.
Shearer, of course, is the gold standard when it comes to longevity and efficiency in the English top flight. The Englishman played 441 games during his stay in the league, scoring 260 times and emerging as the competition’s all-time leading scorer.
#1 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City): 12 Hat-Tricks
Scoring a whopping 12 hat-tricks during his illustrious Manchester City stay, Sergio Aguero has emerged as Premier League’s most frequent match ball hoarder in history. Aguero, who scored his first hat-trick against Wigan Athletic in September 2011, surpassed Alan Shearer’s record in January 2020, helping his team to a thumping 6-1 victory over Aston Villa.
Aguero scored 184 goals and provided 47 assists in 275 Premier League appearances between 2011 and 2021, winning the Golden Boot once (2014-15) and inspiring City to five titles.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
