Lionel Messi's three goals in Barcelona's 6-1 win against Rayo Vallecano saw him surpass Cristiano Ronaldo for the most hat tricks in La Liga history.
Barca moved to the top of the La Liga table thanks to Sunday's victory in which Luis Suarez also notched a brace and Gerard Pique found the back of the net.
Lionel Messi, ladies and gentlemen. pic.twitter.com/oUZhpri4M8
- ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 8, 2015
Messi scored three times inside 12 minutes to record his 24th La Liga hat trick and move ahead of Ronaldo.
Most hat-tricks in La Liga history Lionel Messi (24) Cristiano Ronaldo (23) Telmo Zarra (22) Alfredo Di Stefano (22) pic.twitter.com/gWiQcbp49m
- Squawka Football (@Squawka) March 8, 2015
It was the Argentina captain's 32nd hat trick in total for Barca, meaning he has also passed Telmo Zarra's previous Spanish club record of 31.
Most hat-tricks in Spanish football history: [32] MESSI [31] Zarra [28] Di Stéfano [27] Cristiano Ronaldo [25] Mundo [23] Puskás
- MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) March 8, 2015
Messi took his total tally for the season to 41 goals with the hat trick, making him the first player in Spanish football history to score 40 or more goals in six different seasons.