Barcelona hosted Olympiacos on Matchday 3 of the Champions League amid a growing injury crisis. But Fermin Lopez stole the spotlight, scoring his first career hat-trick in a dominant 6–1 victory — sparking comparisons to Lionel Messi and raising the question: how long did it take the Argentine legend to net his first hat-trick for Barça?

While Lopez recorded his first hat trick for Barcelona at 22 years old in his third season with the club, Lionel Messi reached the milestone much earlier — at just 19 — also during his third campaign with the Catalan side. Messi’s first hat trick came in iconic fashion, during a 3–3 draw against Real Madrid that marked the beginning of his legendary run with Barcelona.

That performance would be the first of many. Over 17 seasons with the Spanish giants,

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