Cristiano Ronaldo broke the 50-goal mark this season after recording a hat trick in Real Madrid's Primera Division clash against Atletico at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night. The Portuguese superstar reached the iconic milestone after his strike in the 25th minute, when he lashed a brilliant swerving free-kick past a static Thibaut Courtois from fully 30 yards. He went on to score his 51st goal on in the 68th minute and 52nd in the 88th. Ronaldo now has 41 La Liga goal in 2011-12 in just 32 appearances, reaching a total of 52 strikes in all competitions in just 47 outings for the capital giants. Ronaldo netted 53 goals in 54 appearances last season, and with six league games left to play in the current campaign, coupled with Los Blancos' continued participation in the Champions League, he will almost certainly surpass his own total over the next few weeks. On Saturday, Barcelona star Lionel Messi notched his 60th goal of the season in the Catalans' 4-1 demolition of Zaragoza, becoming the first player since Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller to reach the illustrious figure.