Since their first meeting in the Copa de la Coronación in 1902, Real Madrid and Barcelona have played in over 250 competitive fixtures.
El Clásico is a match watched all over the world and it is difficult to think of a bigger game anywhere else.
In a rivalry which extends beyond football to politics and nationalism, Real Madrid versus Barcelona is always a huge occasion.
Each club has over 100 victories in the fixture and more than 20 players have hit hat-tricks in El Clásico. Here, a look at the players who scored three or more in the fixture for either Madrid or Barça…
Santiago Bernabéu (Real Madrid, April 1916)
Although best known these days for lending his name to Real Madrid’s stadium and as a legendary former president, Santiago Bernabéu was also a star player for Los Blancos.
A prolific forward for Madrid in the 1910s and 1920s, Bernabéu hit a hat-trick against Barcelona in a 4-1 win in the Copa del Rey semi-finals in April 1916. Aggregate scores did not count back then, so two replays were required to settle the tie. The first of those finished 6-6, with Bernabéu scoring another three and team-mate Luis Belaunde also helping himself to a hat-trick in the same fixture.
Paulino Alcántara (Barcelona, April 1916)
As well as Madrid FC pair Santiago Bernabéu and Luis Belaunde, Barcelona’s Paulino Alcántara netted a hat-trick in the teams’ thrilling 6-6 draw in the Copa del Rey in April 1916.
The legendary Philippines-born forward also scored in the first match of the series, which needed two replays to decide a winner. Madrid won it 4-2 after extra time in the teams’ fourth meeting. Alcántara scored 395 goals in 399 games for Barça, although a large number of those came in friendly fixtures.
Josep Samitier (Barcelona, April 1926)
A legendary figure at Barcelona, despite later leaving to play for Real Madrid, Josep Samitier was a prolific forward for the Catalan club and became their coach after his retirement from football.
In a Copa del Rey quarter-final first leg in Madrid in April 1926, Samitier scored four goals in a 5-1 win for Barcelona. He also netted twice in the second match as Barça added a 3-0 victory to advance 8-1 on aggregate to the last four.
Jaime Lazcano (Real Madrid, March 1930 & February 1935)
Former Real Madrid midfielder Jaime Lazcano scored two hat-tricks in El Clásico: one in a 5-1 win over Barcelona in March 1930 and a second in an 8-2 victory in February 1935.
Madrid’s Ildefonso Sañudo scored four in that second match, while Barcelona’s Martí Ventolrà hit three in the return fixture in April 1935. Earlier in the decade, Barça’s Juan Ramón scored all three in a 3-1 win in April 1931. And in the match which established El Clásico as an important rivalry in 1943, Madrid pair Pruden and Sabino Barinaga scored three and four, respectively, in an 11-1 win for Madrid. It has been claimed since that Barça’s players were put under military pressure before the game by General Franco’s fascist dictatorship.
César Rodríguez (Barcelona, March 1952)
A legendary forward who played in the 1940s and 1950s, César Rodríguez was Barcelona’s all-time top scorer in competitive fixtures until he was surpassed by Lionel Messi.
César hit 232 goals for Barça in total, including three in a 4-2 win at home to Real Madrid in a La Liga clash in March 1952.
Eulogio Martínez (Barcelona, May 1957)
Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 6-1 in the second leg of the teams’ Copa del Generalísimo quarter-final at Les Corts in May 1957.
Spain striker Eulogio Martínez hit four for Barça as the Blaugrana won the tie 8-3 following a 2-2 draw in the first match in Madrid.
Evaristo (Barcelona, October 1958)
Brazilian forward Evaristo left Barcelona for Real Madrid after a dispute with the board in 1962.
Although he won two La Liga titles with Los Blancos, Evaristo was restricted by injuries in the capital and was unable to replicate the form he showed at Barça, where he scored over 100 goals and hit a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Madrid in October 1958. It was the first Clásico treble at Camp Nou, which was inaugurated the previous year.
Ferenc Puskás (Real Madrid, January & December 1963)
The only man to have scored hat-tricks in two European Cup finals, Ferenc Puskás is also one of just a few players to have netted two trebles in El Clásico.
The Hungarian great hit three in a 5-1 win for Real Madrid against Barcelona at Camp Nou in January 1963 and helped himself to another hat-trick in the teams’ next meeting – a 4-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu in March 1964.
Amancio Amaro (Real Madrid, November 1964)
A nine-time La Liga winner with Real Madrid in the 1960s and 1970s, Amancio Amaro also helped Los Blancos claim the European Cup in 1966.
An outside right, Amancio scored over 150 goals for Madrid in a long spell at the Santiago Bernabéu, including three in a 4-1 win at home to Barcelona in November 1964.
Gary Lineker (Barcelona, January 1987)
Gary Lineker spent three seasons at Barcelona in the late 1980s and the former England striker endeared himself to the club’s fans with a hat-trick against Real Madrid in January 1987.
Lineker scored three typical poacher’s goals as Barça beat Madrid 3-2 at Camp Nou. It was the first hat-trick in El Clásico for over 20 years.
Romário (Barcelona, January 1994)
Romário was not at Barcelona for a long time, but the Brazilian gave the fans some memorable nights in his season and a half at Camp Nou.
One of those came in a 5-0 win over Real Madrid in La Liga as the striker hit a superb hat-trick for Johan Cruyff’s side at Camp Nou. Ronald Koeman and Iván Iglesias scored the other goals.
Iván Zamorano (Real Madrid, January 1995)
Iván Zamorano scored eight goals in El Clásico and three of those came in one match.
A year after losing 5-0 against Barcelona at Camp Nou, Madrid took victory by the same scoreline at the Santiago Bernabéu and the Chilean was on target three times. Luis Enrique and José Amavisca scored the other goals.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, March 2007 & March 2014)
Lionel Messi’s first career hat-trick came in El Clásico as the Argentina great scored all three goals for Barcelona in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Real Madrid at Camp Nou in March 2007.
Seven years later, Messi hit another hat-trick – including two goals from the penalty spot – as Barça beat Madrid 4-3 at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Luis Suárez (Barcelona, October 2018)
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane recently departed, Real Madrid were struggling in October 2018 and Barcelona took full advantage in a rampant display at Camp Nou.
The Blaugrana ran out 5-1 winners on the night, with Luis Suárez on target three times for Ernesto Valverde’s side. After the crushing defeat in Barcelona, Madrid sacked coach Julen Lopetegui.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, April 2023)
Karim Benzema scored 16 goals in El Clásico over the course of his 14 seasons as a Real Madrid player.
The French forward hit a second-half hat-trick in his very last appearance against Barcelona as Real Madrid won 4-0 away at Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semi-finals in April 2023. Vinícius Júnior scored the other.
Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid, January 2024)
Real Madrid met Barcelona in the final of the Supercopa de España in Saudi Arabia in January 2024 and Los Blancos won the trophy in a one-sided contest.
Vinícius Júnior scored a hat-trick in Riyadh and Rodrygo was also on target in a 4-1 win for Madrid, with Robert Lewandowski netting Barça’s goal. It was the 28th hat-trick in El Clásico, with Vinícius the 24th player to score three in the fixture.
