Ronaldo Scored His 21st Hat-trick for Real Madrid - Three times as good

Posted Friday, September 20, 2013 by skysports.com

It seems Cristiano Ronaldo has been spurred on by the renewal of his contract - the Portuguese's superb display against Galatasaray served to prove this point. Ronaldo scored his 21st hat-trick for Madrid and did so in Europe's most prestigious competition - the Champions League.

'Los Blancos' have begun their quest for the club's tenth European Cup and have done so with their star player in an ambitious mood. "I want to score another 200 goals", the Portuguese striker said the day he signed his new contract and after his recent display in Turkey, it seems he's not joking.

The first time Ronaldo scored a hat-trick was on 5th May 2010 – the only time during this season – in a game against Mallorca, which helped Manuel Pellegrini's Madrid side to continue its fight for the league title. Since then it appears Ronaldo has scored hat-tricks in a Real Madrid shirt for fun. The Portuguese star even managed to net four goals in a game on two occasions – against Racing and Sevilla during the 2010-11 season.

Ronaldo's three goals at the Ali Sami Yen stadium in Istanbul have moved him above another Real Madrid legend, Ferenc Puskas, in the club's all-time scoring table in European football. Ronaldo has scored 38 goals in 41 matches for Real in the competition and is now the third on the list, only behind Hugo Sánchez and Raúl.