On This Day: Messi scores hat-trick against Real to become El Clasico all-time top goalscorer

It was Messi’s second hat-trick in consecutive matches as he became the all-time top scorer in Clasicos with 21 goals, surpassing Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano.

Sorcerer supreme: By the time Messi left Barca in 2021, he had scored 26 goals against Real Madrid. | Photo Credit: AP/FILE IMAGE

On this day in 2014, Lionel Messi scored three past Diego Lopez as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 4-3 to keep its title hopes intact at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It was Messi’s second hat-trick in consecutive matches as he became the all-time top scorer in Clasicos with 21 goals, surpassing Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano (18). By the time he left Barca in 2021, he had scored 26 goals against Real Madrid.

Barcelona went on to finish second that season with 67 points and lost the title to Atletico Madrid, which secured 70, by the barest of margins.

Currently, Messi is third on the list of top goalscorers in men’s international football with 98 goals. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo leads the chart with 118 goals in 195 appearances, closely followed by Iranian legend Ali Daei.

Watch the moment when Messi became El Clasico’s all-time top goalscorer: