He's done it again!

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi has snatched another La Liga record from under the nose of his arch-nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo for his exploits in Saturday's emphatic win over RCD Mallorca. The 32-year-old Argentine forward scored thrice to become the player with the most hat-tricks in the history of the Spanish league as Los Blaugrana secured a 5-2 home victory.

Having watched Antoine Griezmann open the scoring for Los Blaugrana in the seventh minute, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner consolidated the lead for his side after being setup by the French striker in the 17th minute. With Ante Budimir pulling one back for the visitors 10 minutes from half-time, the Barca No. 10 grabbed his second in the 41st minute before Luis Suarez put the game out of reach with a mouth-watering backheel finish.

With seven minutes left until stoppage time, Messi combined with the Uruguayan for Barcelona's fifth and final goal of the night which ensured that they remain atop the league table going into the new week. The Argentine's goal came after Ante Budimir had secured a brace with his second of the encounter in the 64th minute.

In essence, Lionel Messi took the number of La Liga hat-tricks he has scored to 35, bypassing Cristiano Ronaldo's 34 to become the player to have recorded the most in the history of the competition. His goals against Mallorca also ensured that he became the only player in Europe's top five leagues to score 10 or more goals in each of the last 14 seasons.