Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez, Griezmann and... Yeremy Pino
The 19-year-old Spain international joined some exalted company by scoring four goals against Espanyol
Spanish teenager Yeremi Pino followed in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann by bagging four goals for Villarreal in a 5-1 win over Espanyol on Sunday.
Pino, aged 19, had only scored two goals all season but scored three times before half-time at the Estadio Ceramica, becoming the youngest ever player to net a first-half hat-trick in La Liga.
The Spain international struck again early in the first half and looked hungry for more goals but was unable to add to his tally as coach Unai Emery substituted him in the 75th minute.
And he did not please to be hooked even as he received a standing ovation from the home crowd.
Pino, who wears his first name on the back of his shirt and is better known as Yeremy, became the first player in the Spanish top-flight to net four times in a game since Messi did so in a 5-0 win for Barcelona against Eibar in February 2020.
Ronaldo struck four goals in a match no fewer than eight times for Real Madrid, the last time being in a 6-3 drubbing of Girona in March 2018.
Just a couple of weeks before then Griezmann scored all of the goals in a 4-0 win for Atletico Madrid against Leganes.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Suarez, meanwhile, netted four times in an incredible 8-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna in April 2016 (the Uruguayan also got three assists in that game).
Now we don't want to put too much pressure on Pino's young shoulders and say he is going to match the achievements of those four world stars. But he's made a pretty good start.
Richard Martin is an experienced football writer, editor and social media producer. Before returning to London, he spent 10 years in Spain as a football correspondent and has attended over 600 games across 16 countries, his favourite being Argentina. He has also worked for Reuters, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail, The Times and AS.