La Liga was founded in 1929. Real Madrid and Barcelona, two of the biggest clubs in the world, participate in this league. Considering such teams are a part of La Liga, it is not surprising that some of the best goal scorers, through time, have found themselves playing in La Liga. This list features the top 10 La Liga scorers, how many goals they scored in how many appearances, and who they played for.
Rank | Player | Goals | Appearances | Goals/Game Ratio |
1 | Lionel Messi | 474 | 520 | 0.91 |
2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 311 | 292 | 1.07 |
3 | Telmo Zarra | 251 | 277 | 0.91 |
4 | Karim Benzema | 238 | 439 | 0.54 |
5 | Hugo Sánchez | 234 | 347 | 0.67 |
6 | Raúl | 228 | 550 | 0.41 |
7 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 227 | 329 | 0.69 |
8 | César Rodríguez | 221 | 353 | 0.63 |
9 | Quini | 219 | 448 | 0.49 |
10 | Pahiño | 212 | 278 | 0.76 |
11 | Edmundo Suárez | 195 | 231 | 0.84 |
12 | David Villa | 186 | 352 | 0.53 |
12 | Santillana | 186 | 461 | 0.4 |
14 | Antoine Griezmann | 185 | 483 | 0.38 |
15 | Guillermo Gorostiza | 183 | 255 | 0.72 |
16 | Juan Arza | 182 | 349 | 0.52 |
17 | Luis Suárez | 179 | 258 | 0.69 |
18 | Samuel Eto’o | 162 | 280 | 0.58 |
19 | Luis Aragonés | 160 | 360 | 0.44 |
20 | Aritz Aduriz | 158 | 443 | 0.36 |
21 | Ferenc Puskás | 156 | 180 | 0.87 |
22 | Iago Aspas | 152 | 346 | 0.44 |
22 | Julio Salinas | 152 | 417 | 0.36 |
24 | Adrián Escudero | 150 | 287 | 0.52 |
25 | Daniel Ruiz | 147 | 303 | 0.49 |
26 | Raúl Tamudo | 146 | 407 | 0.36 |
27 | Silvestre Igoa | 140 | 283 | 0.49 |
28 | Manuel Badenes | 139 | 199 | 0.7 |
28 | Juan Araújo | 139 | 207 | 0.67 |
28 | José Mari Bakero | 139 | 484 | 0.29 |
31 | László Kubala | 138 | 215 | 0.64 |
32 | José Luis Panizo | 136 | 326 | 0.42 |
33 | Jesús Satrústegui | 133 | 297 | 0.45 |
33 | Ismael Urzaiz | 133 | 438 | 0.3 |
35 | Joaquín Murillo | 131 | 226 | 0.58 |
36 | Fernando Ansola | 130 | 323 | 0.4 |
37 | Luboslav Penev | 129 | 305 | 0.42 |
37 | Roberto Soldado | 129 | 323 | 0.4 |
37 | Paco Gento | 129 | 437 | 0.3 |
40 | Diego Forlán | 128 | 240 | 0.53 |
40 | Eneko Arieta | 128 | 244 | 0.52 |
41 | Álvaro Negredo | 128 | 361 | 0.35 |
43 | Paco Campos | 127 | 204 | 0.62 |
44 | Mario Kempes | 126 | 222 | 0.57 |
45 | Epi Fernández | 125 | 334 | 0.37 |
46 | Fernando Morientes | 124 | 337 | 0.37 |
47 | Emilio Butragueño | 123 | 341 | 0.36 |
47 | Pirri | 123 | 417 | 0.29 |
49 | Herrerita | 119 | 229 | 0.52 |
49 | Gerard Moreno | 119 | 297 | 0.4 |
49 | Amancio Amaro | 119 | 344 | 0.35 |
52 | Ronaldo | 117 | 164 | 0.71 |
52 | Agustín Gainza | 117 | 380 | 0.31 |
54 | Waldo Machado | 115 | 216 | 0.53 |
54 | Rafael Marañón | 115 | 308 | 0.37 |
56 | José Juncosa | 114 | 232 | 0.49 |
56 | Davor Šuker | 114 | 239 | 0.48 |
58 | Roberto López Ufarte | 112 | 418 | 0.27 |
59 | Carlos Muñoz | 111 | 314 | 0.35 |
59 | Pedro Uralde | 111 | 338 | 0.33 |
59 | José Ángel Ziganda | 111 | 381 | 0.29 |
59 | Raúl García | 111 | 600 | 0.19 |
63 | Jose Eulogio Garate | 109 | 241 | 0.45 |
64 | Bata | 108 | 118 | 0.92 |
64 | Fernando Gómez | 108 | 420 | 0.26 |
66 | Mariano Martín | 107 | 130 | 0.82 |
66 | Gonzalo Higuaín | 107 | 190 | 0.56 |
66 | Rivaldo | 107 | 198 | 0.54 |
66 | Pichi Alonso | 107 | 261 | 0.41 |
66 | José Luis Artetxe | 107 | 276 | 0.39 |
71 | Isidro Lángara | 105 | 90 | 1.17 |
71 | Meho Kodro | 105 | 263 | 0.4 |
71 | Fernando Hierro | 105 | 497 | 0.21 |
74 | Hermidita | 104 | 160 | 0.65 |
75 | Cayetano Ré | 103 | 265 | 0.39 |
75 | Luis Enrique | 103 | 400 | 0.26 |
77 | Guillermo Campanal | 102 | 157 | 0.65 |
77 | Fernando Torres | 102 | 281 | 0.36 |
77 | Manuel Sarabia | 102 | 363 | 0.28 |
80 | Victorio Unamuno | 101 | 141 | 0.72 |
80 | Julen Guerrero | 101 | 372 | 0.27 |
82 | Roy Makaay | 100 | 205 | 0.49 |
Pahino is a Spanish striker who played in La Liga from 1943 – 1956. He played for Celta de Vigo, Real Madrid, and Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish league. Pahino played 278 league games in total across these three clubs. In these, he managed to score 212 goals. This puts his goals per game at an impressive 0.76.
6 años sin el Brujo. 🙏
Siempre en nuestro recuerdo, Quini. ✨ pic.twitter.com/YhUtHNS97i
— LALIGA (@LaLiga) February 27, 2024
Enrique Castro Gonzalez, known as Quini, played in La Liga from 1968 – 1987. He represented Sporting Gijon and Barcelona in La Liga, with most of his appearances coming for the former team. The Spanish striker made 348 appearances for Sporting Gijon in the league, scoring 165 goals. His other 54 goals came in the 100 appearances he made for Barcelona. He scored a total of 219 goals in 448 La Liga games, making his goals-per-game ratio 0.49.
Cesar Rodriguez played in La Liga from 1940 to 1960. He represented Granada, Barcelona, Cultural Leonesa, and Elche. He scored 23 goals in 24 appearances for Granada, three goals in 15 appearances for Cultural Leonesa, and five goals in 27 games for Elche. However, his most successful period came at Barcelona. The Spanish forward scored 190 goals in 287 games for them. This brought his total tally of La Liga goals up to 221 goals in 353 appearances, making his goals-per-game ratio 0.63.
Alfredo Di Stefano is regarded as one of the best strikers to have ever lived. He represented Real Madrid and Espanyol in the top tier of Spanish football. He scored a total of 227 goals in 329 appearances in the league, at a goals-per-game ratio of 0.69. He played in the league from 1953 – 1966. He scored 216 goals in 282 appearances for Real Madrid and 11 goals in 47 appearances for Espanyol.
Raul Gonzalez:
550 Games
228 Goals
6 La Liga Santander CupBig striker, big captain !!! pic.twitter.com/cA2KKqDw1t
— Bielsa (@puabvsenin) May 16, 2020
Raul only ever played for Real Madrid in La Liga. He played in the Spanish league from 1994 to 2010, making 550 appearances for Real Madrid. The Spanish forward scored 228 league goals in these 550 appearances for the club. 228 goals in 550 appearances means a goals-per-game ratio of 0.41.
ALSO READ: Serie A Top Scorers
Happy Birthday, Hugo Sánchez 🥳
During his time in Spain he:
🧔Made 347 appearances
⚽️Scored 234 goals
🏆Won 5 Li Ligas
🏆Won 3 Supercopa de España
🏆Won 2 Copa del Rey
🏆Won 1 UEFA Cup#RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/wd2i3qkqPf— RM_DNA (@officialrm_dna) July 12, 2019
Mexican striker Hugo Sanchez is a La Liga legend. He is the fifth-highest goal scorer in the history of the competition. He played for Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Rayo Vallecano. The Mexican star scored 54 goals in 111 games for Atletico Madrid, 164 goals in 207 games for Real Madrid, and 16 goals in 29 games for Rayo Vallecano, ending his La Liga career with 234 goals in 347 games. This makes his goals-per-game ratio 0.67.
𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧… ✨@Benzema (228) surpasses Di Stefano (227) in goals scored for @realmadriden in #LaLigaHistory! pic.twitter.com/27kWIdpmSh
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) January 22, 2023
Karim Benzema is yet another Real Madrid star on this list. The French striker only ever played for Real Madrid in La Liga. He made 439 appearances for the club, scoring 238 goals. He represented the club from 2009 to 2023. Benzema was a part of Real Madrid before moving to Saudi Arabia club Al-Ittihad in 2023. Benzema is the fourth-highest goal scorer in La Liga history, with a goals-per-game ratio of 0.54.
Credit: ABC
Telmo Zarra was a Spanish forward who played in La Liga from 1940 to 1955. The Spanish star only ever played for Athletic Bilbao. He is the club’s top scorer by quite some margin. Telmo Zarra scored 251 goals in 277 La Liga appearances. This puts his goals-per-game ratio to a ridiculous 0.91, meaning Zarra nearly averaged a goal per game.
Cristiano Ronaldo is quite possibly the best goal-scorer football has ever seen. His knack of finding the back of the net was best displayed during his time with Real Madrid. Ronaldo played in top division of Spanish football from 2009 to 2018. He scored 311 league goals in 292 appearances. He is the only player in the top 50 goal-scorers in the Spanish league to have a goals-per-game ratio of more than one. Ronaldo ended his La Liga career having more goals scored than games played, averaging 1.07 goals per game.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick on this day in 2014 to become La Liga’s top all time goalscorer, scoring 253 goals at the time.
He left Barcelona having scored 474 La Liga goals 🤯 pic.twitter.com/RyWZX8XJk8
— GOAL (@goal) November 22, 2021
There was never any doubt about who would be on top of this list. Of course, it was going to be Lionel Messi. Having spent almost his entire career in Barcelona, it is no surprise that Messi tops this list. Lionel Messi played in top division of Spanish football from 2004 to 2021. He made a total of 520 league appearances for Barcelona, scoring 474 goals in the process. While his goals-per-game ratio is not as high as Cristiano Ronaldo’s, Messi ended his La Liga career averaging 0.91 goals per game.
For more news and updates on La Liga, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.
Guransh Machra is a sportswriter at Gutshot Magazine. He covers football news from local leagues like the Indian Super League as well as international leagues like the Premier League. He follows various sports like Football, Cricket, Formula 1, and Tennis. Apart from sports, Guransh is also enthusiastic about reading and gaming.
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