At the age of 30, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a remarkable 37 hat-tricks for club and country.

Just one of those came during his stint with Manchester United, while the attacker has fired in a trio of trebles while on international duty with Portugal. That means a staggering 33 of his multiple-goal hauls have come in the famous white shirt of Real Madrid, including one when Los Blancos made the trip to Ajax three years ago today.

Jose Mourinho's visitors were on the front foot from the whistle in Amsterdam, but it was not until the 42nd minute that they made their domination count.

Karim Benzema was the creator as he worked his way to the left byline, before he cut the ball back into the Ajax box. None of the home defenders was able to clear the danger, which left Ronaldo with a routine finish to break the deadlock.

Then, with three minutes of the second half played, Benzema turned scorer in stunning fashion. A counter-attack move found Kaka on the right wing and although the Brazilian's cross was behind Benzema, the French striker was able to acrobatically power a volley beyond Kenneth Vermeer.

There was some momentary optimism for the Dutch hosts when Niklas Moisander headed in at the far post to reduce the deficit, but from that moment onwards, Ronaldo stole the limelight.

The Portuguese talisman scored his second and Madrid's third goal of the evening 11 minutes from time. He was afforded plenty of space 25 yards from goal and made the most of that freedom by sending a dipping shot inside Vermeer's left hand post.

Two minutes later the hat-trick was rounded off in style as Ronaldo was set away by Sami Khedira's through pass. That left the number seven one on one with Vermeer and he won that duel with a deft chipped effort to secure a 4-1 victory for the Spaniards.

Speaking to reporters after the final whistle, Ronaldo said: "I am very happy because we won and played well. For me, to score three goals is vital.

"We played a very complete game and it is very important to gain confidence for the next game [against Barcelona]. It's very important to take the ball home but the important thing is the team because without them I would not manage to score goals."

Meanwhile, beaten manager Frank de Boer added: "I always say to the players that you must respect your opponent, but you should never worship them. That's something we did today and in that way you can never win against a team like Real."

Ajax: Vermeer; Van Rhijn, Alderweireld, Moisander, Blind; De Jong, Poulsen, Eriksen, Sana, Babel; Boerrigte

Madrid: Casillas; Marcelo, Pepe, Ramos, Arbeloa; Essien, Alonso; Ronaldo, Kaka, Callejon; Benzema