Top 25 Overseas Players to Score Hat-Tricks in the Premier League
The influx of foreign talent in the Premier League has brought about an unprecedented depth of scoring talent over the last decade, with many overseas imports making their way into the annals of English football.
January 21 marks the three-year anniversary of Clint Dempsey's 2012 hat-trick against Newcastle United, steering Fulham almost single-handedly to a 5-2 win over the Magpies. That accolade to this date makes Dempsey the only American ever to bag a hat-trick in the English first tier.
In celebration of the Texan's accolade, we've pulled together a list of the greatest foreign talents to have marked their territory in the Premier League with a hat-trick, taking into account all players originating outside the United Kingdom.
For some, this achievement was routine, while even some of the most world-class athletes could only manage the feat on one occasion.
Regardless of how many hat-tricks they bagged, however, simply recording one is good enough to gain entry into our draw, paying respects to the foreign figures of past and present to have netted goals en masse.
Honourable Mentions
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Tony Yeboah
The only Ghanaian ever to score a Premier League hat-trick, former Leeds United striker Tony Yeboah twice bagged three-goal hauls during his time at Elland Road, both of which came in 1995.
In two years among the English top flight, one of the Black Stars' most prominent attackers in history scored 32 goals, six of those coming against Ipswich Town and Wimbledon.
Many would suggest that Robinho's £33 million arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2008 is where Abu Dhabi's money-fuelled ownership of Manchester City first began to rear its head as a future Premier League titan.
In the five years since, not every player purchase has worked as desired—to say the least—and while Robinho's value to City was up for debate, he at least has a proud Premier League hat-trick to his name.
The Brazilian put all three past Stoke City in a 3-0 defeat of the Potters in October 2008, just a month-and-a-half after his arrival in England, showing fans what they had to be excited for in future.
Robinho's time with the Citizens ultimately ended quite bitterly and dragged out with a short-term loan at former club Santos, but there's no denying what a magnificent talent the former Selecao star was in his prime.
Savo Milosevic
Savo Milosevic's three years at Villa Park were far from the most prolific of his career, but a hat-trick against Coventry City during his debut 1995-1996 campaign provided one particular highlight for the Serbian.
He would later go on to find his most reliable scoring touch with Spanish sides Real Zaragoza, Espanyol and Celta Vigo, albeit never quite living up to the expectations established at Partizan Belgrade.
25. Andrei Kanchelskis
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Andrei Kanchelskis represented no fewer than four Premier League clubs during his playing career, but a combined 11 league appearances for Manchester City and Southampton meant the Russian didn't net a single goal for either outfit.
Rather it was Manchester United and Everton who got the best out of his ability earlier in the 1990s, grabbing a hat-trick for each of those teams, both of which came in the 18 months building up to his first England departure.
Arriving at Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in 1991, it took the enigmatic winger more than three-and-a-half years to bag his only United hat-trick, accounting for three of his 28 league goals with the Red Devils.
After transferring to the Goodison Park in 1995—where he enjoyed a much more prolific scoring pattern—Kanchelskis showed more initiative, taking just six months to bag three in a 5-2 beating of Sheffield Wednesday in April 1996.
Despite his instant impact on Merseyside, however, Kanchelskis was sold to Fiorentina in 1996 before he had a chance to get his second Everton season up and running.
24. Fabrizio Ravanelli
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The first of two iconic, Italian '90s strikers included in our countdown is Fabrizio Ravanelli, the man who despite finishing among the Premier League's top scorers in just one full season at Middlesbrough, couldn't prevent their relegation.
And what better way to announce his presence at Teesside than with a hat-trick display against Liverpool? That 3-3 result comprised the first of his two three-goal contributions with 'Boro. The other ironically came later that season as part of a 6-1 thrashing of future club Derby County.
The 1996-97 season at Middlesbrough was an incredibly successful one for Ravanelli on the individual scale, but by the time he joined the Rams in 2001, his decline was more evident and no further hat-tricks were scored.
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23. Marc Overmars
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Although it wasn't always smooth sailing for Marc Overmars in north London, the ex-Arsenal winger persevered and won over Premier League critics in time.
The Dutchman took his time to adapt to the English top flight, and it's perhaps fitting that it was in his last season as a Gunner that he recorded his only Premier League hat-trick.
That achievement came about in the 1999-2000 campaign, where a 5-1 demolition of Middlesbrough saw Overmars thrive off the brilliance of one Dennis Bergkamp, who contributed the other two Gunners goals.
After Euro 2000 the following year, Overmars departed for Barcelona in a £25 million transfer, but could look back on this performance as a special day's work in front of goal.
22. Dimitar Berbatov
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Of the three Premier League outfits Dimitar Berbatov represented during his eight-year English tenure, Fulham were the only club for whom he failed to record a hat-trick.
The Bulgarian's first came in the shape of a four-goal contribution during a 6-4 dismantling of Reading in 2007, while he still played under Tottenham Hotspur's banner, while his other four hat-tricks were all for Manchester United.
That demolition of the Royals wasn't the only occasion on which Berbatov managed more than three goals, however, managing five against Blackburn Rovers in November 2010, making him the only non-Englishman to score five in one Premier League game.
21. Nicolas Anelka
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The man of a million clubs—or 12 to be more precise—Nicolas Anelka has had as much chance as any other overseas striker to make his presence felt in the Premier League.
Playing for six English top-flight teams in total, Anelka is one of only two non-Englishmen to have scored hat-tricks for three different Premier League sides, Yakubu Aiyegbeni being the other.
The French journeyman has slotted one hat-trick for each of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, who unsurprisingly sit as three of the biggest British clubs he's turned out for.
Now a free agent after leaving Mumbai City at the end of 2014, Anelka's expedition around the globe's football leagues continues, but 2015 could finally see him hang up his boots.
20. Fernando Torres
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His reputation may not be what it once was, but there's no arguing that former Liverpool ace Fernando Torres has made a big impact on the Premier League—both good and bad.
After officially cutting ties with Chelsea—the club where his career began its crumbling—perhaps we'll see the Spaniard add to his hat-trick total, although any almost certainly won't be in the Premier League.
In seven-and-a-half years as a Premier League player, Torres netted four hat-tricks—three of which were scored for the Reds, while his last came at Stamford Bridge.
In correlation with his career trajectory, the striker bagged his three Liverpool hat-tricks within a 17-month window, against Middlesbrough, West Ham United and Hull City, in that order.
After that 6-1 defeat of the Tigers, it would be another two-and-a-half years before he was again named as a hat-trick scorer in the Premier League, showing how damaging his move to west London truly was.
19. Gianluca Vialli
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The second former Azzurri star of the 1990s included in our list is Gianluca Vialli, who came to Chelsea at the very end of a 20-year playing career and scored some pivotal goals during his three years as a Stamford Bridge player.
On that spectrum of importance, four goals in a 6-0 Premier League win over Barnsley perhaps doesn't sparkle near the top, but is nonetheless indicative of the reliable role he enforced both in the starting XI and as a squad player.
Vialli is somewhat unique on this list, as his Premier League career would lead to a player-manager role in west London before assuming full managerial duties.
18. Jurgen Klinsmann
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Jurgen Klinsmann's most successful season as a Tottenham Hotspur forward came in the 1994-95 campaign, but it was actually during a short-term loan at White Hart Lane later on that he scored his only Premier League hat-trick.
One might have been forgiven for not expecting great things from the German at this point, coming back to Spurs on loan from Sampdoria in the winter of 1997.
At 33 years of age and well past his prime, it would turn out to be his last stint at football's elite level, but his instant impact in north London helped save Tottenham from relegation that season.
In particular, it was a four-goal bonanza against Wimbledon that helped steer Spurs back on track. That May 1998 fixture ended 6-2 in Tottenham's favour, in some ways acting as a final thank you to the club that cherished his input.
17. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
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The fastest scorer of a four-goal haul in Premier League history gained renown for his super-sub influence, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 12-minute quartet of scores against Nottingham Forest in 1999 puts him among a very exclusive group.
That wasn't the only 1999 fixture in which the Norwegian would score four goals, either, helping Manchester United to a 5-1 defeat of Everton in December of that year.
It would be just over two years before Solskjaer added to his hat-trick tally, however, assisting with three goals in a January 2002 win over Bolton Wanderers, failing to add another in his remaining five years at Old Trafford.
For many, the Babyfaced Assassin perhaps should have been a more prominent member in Sir Alex Ferguson's squad, but at the very least, Solskjaer consistently made the best of his predicament.
16. Sylvain Wiltord
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Sylvain Wiltord's four years at Arsenal coincided with one of the club's most silverware-laden periods, winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups with the Gunners.
Without a doubt his most important goal for Arsene Wenger's side was the 1-0 decider against Manchester United, which secured the 2001-02 league crown.
A season earlier, the French Euro 2000 star snagged his only hat-trick in England's first tier, although that, too, was an essential input, guiding Arsenal to a 3-0 victory against West Ham on March 3, 2001.
15. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
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To this date, only five Premier League players have recorded hat-tricks after coming off the substitutes' bench. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is one of those, alongside Romelu Lukaku, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robbie Earnshaw and the aforementioned Solskjaer.
That miraculous effort was made against Wolverhampton Wanderers in March 2004, one of the three league-based hat-tricks scored during his time as a Chelsea player, the fourth coming during his stint with Middlesbrough.
In his 136 Premier League appearances for the Blues, the Dutchman managed 69 goals, averaging just over a goal every other game.
It's a testament to Hasselbaink's longevity that even after moving to the northeast with Boro, the then 32-year-old was still potent enough in front of goal to be netting goals in their threes, that 2004 effort leading the side to a 4-0 drilling of Blackburn Rovers.
14. Samuel Eto'o
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Well-travelled Samuel Eto'o has scored glorious goals in Spain, Italy and Russia, and England was happy to welcome his talent to its borders upon his signing for Chelsea in the summer of 2013.
Granted, given that his career was supposedly entering its twilight years, the Cameroonian's sole season with the Blues wasn't a prolific one compared to previous, but in January 2014, his evergreen quality was evident.
For it was then the former Real Madrid, Inter and Barcelona star paved the way to a 3-1 hammering of Manchester United, very probably his finest hour—or 79 minutes—in west London.
Now one year into a two-year contract with Everton, the Toffees may still seek to see Eto'o add to his hat-trick total in England, but with BBC Sport reporting a Serie A return with Sampdoria is perhaps on the cards, those hopes may be lost.
13. Eden Hazard
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Given the names already mentioned on this list, some may dub it premature to rank Eden Hazard so highly in a list of overseas Premier League greats, but the Belgian is truly a world-class talent.
Not necessarily known for scoring goals in great number, it's not surprising that Hazard's two-and-a-half-year stay with Chelsea has thus far only produced one hat-trick.
That three-goal supply came about during a 3-0 defeat of Newcastle United in February 2014, a clear indicator of the winger's ability to win games single-handedly.
Last month, BBC Sport reported Hazard was close to penning new terms at Stamford Bridge, giving west Londoners a prayer of seeing to it that those scoring exploits only continue to grow in frequency.
12. Robert Pires
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On May 7, 2003, Arsenal hit Southampton for six in claiming a 6-1 triumph over the Saints, a fixture in which there was not only one, but two hat-trick scorers.
Joining Jermaine Pennant in the goal rout came Gunners great Robert Pires, who was perhaps helped on by the fact the former had managed to put Arsenal three goals up within the first 10 minutes of their meeting.
With Southampton on the ropes, Pires would add another three to their misery and record his only Premier League hat-trick, a small percentage of the Frenchman's total 62 league goals while part of Wenger's team.
Still going in the Indian Super League with F.C. Goa, Pires is far from the figure who once dazzled Highbury audiences on a weekly basis, but his worth as one of the division's greatest-ever foreign assets is undeniable.
11. Dwight Yorke
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It's not often that the scorer of any hat-trick ends up on the losing team, but it's an anguish former Manchester United and Aston Villa hero Dwight Yorke knows all too well.
Yorke also played for Blackburn, Birmingham City and Sunderland throughout his Premier League career, but only managed hat-tricks for the Villans and the Red Devils.
It was in October 1996 that three goals from the ex-Trinidad and Tobago international wasn't enough to prevent a 4-3 loss for Villa at the hands of Newcastle United.
Less than two years later, Yorke completed a £12.6 million switch to Old Trafford, where he would raise his hat-trick tally to four, notching trios against the likes of Arsenal, Derby County and Leicester City.
Yorke averaged a goal every other game at United, netting 48 in 96 Premier League outings and his contributions often coming at key times during an extremely successful period under Ferguson.
10. Carlos Tevez
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Carlos Tevez may have cemented his Premier League reputation during a two-year stay with Manchester United, but it wasn't until he joined Manchester City in 2009 that he scored his first hat-trick in the division.
In fact, It took the Argentinian less than six months at City to bag three goals in a Premier League match for the first time, going on to net four in total.
The prominence enjoyed at West Ham followed by the sometimes second-string status at Old Trafford was overcome by the stardom that welcomed Tevez at the Etihad, albeit not without its own problems.
Hat-tricks have a habit of being scored in routs, results where even without those contributions, the same team would have won regardless.
However, Tevez—now at Juventus—had a habit of timing his triples well, three of his four coming in fixtures which would have otherwise ended in draws—a 4-1 beating of Blackburn, along with 3-0 wins over Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion.
9. Ruud van Nistelrooy
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One of only two Dutchmen ever to score five hat-tricks in the Premier League, and much like the aforementioned Berbatov, Ruud van Nistelrooy's greatest successes came at Manchester United.
Van Nistelrooy averaged one hat-trick per season during his Old Trafford stay, the first coming just five months after his 2001 arrival in England as United beat Southampton 6-1 in December of that year.
That game also saw the iconic Oranje forward net one of the fastest goals of the campaign, opening the scoring after just 31 seconds before notching twice more.
Van Nistelrooy scored 25 goals in the 2002-03 season to be named Golden Boot winner, the same season in which he grabbed no fewer than three of his five hat-tricks.
8. Robin van Persie
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Following fellow Oranje striker Van Nistelrooy into this list of Premier League scoring heroes comes Robin van Persie, another proud owner of five hat-tricks in the English top flight.
Unlike Van Nistelrooy, however, Van Persie had a seven-year wait between his 2004 arrival in the Premier League from Feyenoord and recording his first hat-trick in the division.
Once he rose to prominence at Arsenal, however, the Dutchman couldn't cease his scoring majesty, grabbing the first three of his five hat-tricks within a 13-month span between January 2011 and February 2012.
The Gunners were only left regretful they perhaps didn't give RVP such responsibility sooner, and the maestro continued his hat-trick exploits at Old Trafford following a 2012 move to Manchester United.
His first Red Devils hat-trick was particularly magnificent, as little more than two weeks after arriving, he embarked on a one-man rampage to come back from behind and beat Southampton 3-2 in September 2012.
7. Dennis Bergkamp
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Eleven years in north London provided just the one Premier League hat-trick for Dennis Bergkamp, his first for the club during a 1997 clash against Leicester City.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the Gunners to win the fixture, drawing 3-3 against the Foxes, but it would nonetheless prove pivotal in a campaign where they beat Manchester United to the title by just one point.
In a way, it summarises Bergkamp's influence: Flash where and how it was needed, no more and certainly nothing less.
The Dutchman finished his Gunners career with more than 100 goals to his name across all competition, the vast majority of which (87) came in league contest.
6. Luis Suarez
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Only one non-English player—whom we'll discuss in more depth later on—has managed to score more hat-tricks than former Liverpool marvel Luis Suarez, who slotted six in his three-and-a-half years at Anfield.
Norwich City in particular grew sick of facing the Uruguayan, who also became the first player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks against the same team when facing the Canaries.
Granted, his total of six leaves him some way off the all-time leader in hat-tricks scored, Alan Shearer, who netted 11 in all his 18 years playing among the big guns of English football.
However, when considering Suarez managed his number in only three full seasons with the Reds, his reputation as a prolific provider of goals becomes all the more clear.
In fact, it took Suarez fewer than 24 months to score his six hat-tricks, the first coming in April 2012, in a 3-0 win over Norwich, while his last materialised in March 2014, during the Reds 6-3 hammering of Cardiff City.
His career in Spain hasn't taken off with as golden a scoring touch thus far, but it's this kind of poaching frequency that led Barcelona to pay £75 million for his services.
5. Eric Cantona
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In the beginning, there was Eric Cantona, the proud scorer of the Premier League's first-ever hat-trick following its inception in 1992. That feat came on August 25, 1992, a mere 10 days after the inaugural campaign got underway.
The Frenchman helped Leeds United claim a 5-0 triumph over Tottenham Hotspur, but that's where his hat-trick exploits would end in the Premier League, never managing to record another.
Despite developing a star presence at Old Trafford, not once did Cantona manage to score more than twice in any one Premier League fixture under Ferguson, although his impact at the club was no less significant.
In some ways, Cantona's tally of 64 goals in 143 league appearances for the Red Devils across five seasons only further enhances his reputation, sprinkling his influence far more frequently as opposed to scoring in batches at a time.
4. Sergio Aguero
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As touched upon in Hazard's case earlier, it may be premature grading one such as Sergio Aguero so highly in these stakes so early in his Premier League career, but the Argentinian has taken no time to make history.
It's been three-and-a-half years since Manchester City signed the scoring sensation from Atletico Madrid for a £38 million figure, during which time he's managed a relatively modest two hat-tricks.
But Aguero sits as another example that goals in great number aren't everything, especially taking into account the fact that his three-goal contributions came a remarkable three years apart.
The first, made during a 3-0 trouncing of Wigan in September 2011, just two months after his Etihad arrival, wouldn't be equalled—or bested—until October 2014, where he led the Citizens to a 4-1 rout over Spurs.
That being said, 66 goals in 101 Premier League appearances is no shabby ratio, with Aguero's regular influence in front of goal as welcome as any number of hat-tricks as far as City are concerned.
3. Didier Drogba
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Didier Drogba holds a unique achievement in being the only overseas player ever to have scored hat-tricks in back-to-back Premier League fixtures.
The Ivorian bends the rules ever so slightly in the fact these two games actually occurred in separate seasons—the first coming against Wigan in May 2010, while its partner materialised against West Brom in August of that year—but we're not complaining.
Those account for two of Drogba's three Premier League hat-tricks, which is remarkable considering that leaves the rest of his 94 Premier League goals unaccounted for.
The Blues veteran of course bagged all three with Chelsea, the only English club he ever has and by all likelihood ever will represent, with retirement potentially in sight later this year.
Drogba is also the only Ivorian ever to have scored a Premier league hat-trick, although compatriot Yaya Toure may damage that record if he ever manages to resummon his best form.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
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Since moving to Real Madrid in 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a record number of 23 hat-tricks, per the Sunday Times. The number he scored during his time in the Premier League? One.
In six years at Old Trafford, only three of the 84 goals he managed to put away in the English first tier were recorded in the same match, a 6-0 thumping of Newcastle United in January 2008.
Of course, given that so many others on this list are strikers, it's forgivable that Ronaldo, who was still in his formative years as a winger with United, didn't notch more.
His time with Real Madrid has been one of transformation, and his ability to score goals in higher amounts is obviously an indicator of that development.
Manchester United can only be left longing after the talent they lost all those years ago.
1. Thierry Henry
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For many, the aforementioned Ronaldo may well be a superior talent to ex-Arsenal dynamo Thierry Henry when compared at their peaks.
But in terms of Premier League impact, specifically speaking in terms of hat-tricks scored, the Gunners legend has no equal among overseas players.
In the 13 years since the Premier League's inauguration, no overseas player has managed to beat Henry's tally of eight hat-tricks, with only Shearer and Robbie Fowler besting that figure. Former Liverpool, Newcastle United and Manchester United striker Michael Owen also has eight.
Henry's scoring prowess, of course, also gave the north Londoners one of the most successful periods in their history, with the 1999 arrival guiding the Gunners to two Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Henry has the astonishing achievement of also converting four of his eight Premier League hat-tricks in a one year-period, coming between April 9, 2004 (beating Liverpool 4-2) and April 2, 2005 (a 4-1 win against Norwich).
The French talisman is without a doubt one of the greatest assets the Premier League, and indeed European football as a whole, has ever known. However, when it comes to influence over the division through means of his scoring in threes, he sits at the summit.
All appearance and goal statistics come via official club websites and Soccerbase.com.
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