The next set of five players include two of the greatest players to have ever played this great game.
5. Raul - 228 goals
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| One of the most important figures in the history of Real Madrid |
Once in a generation player, the man who brought the Champions League back to Real Madrid. Raul Gonzalez Blanco or simply Raul holds a god-like stature at Madrid. Considered one of the most important players in the history of Real Madrid, Raul joined the Real Madrid academy at the age of 13 after moving to La Fabrica after Atletico Madrid shut down their youth system.
Coming through the youth system, Raul made his professional debut for Real Madrid C in 94-95 season before becoming Real Madrid's then youngest player ever play for the senior team at the age of 17 years and 124 days later in the season. Raul quickly established himself as a key player symbolically meant the passing of the torch from Emilio Butragueno to the young Spaniard.
The striker was responsible for the legions of new sets of fans and the overall globalisation of the Real Madrid brand. Raul quickly established himself as a starter for the club after making his debut. After breaking the La Liga dominance of Barcelona and the dream team in 1994-95, Raul led Madrid to period of dominance between 1996 and 2003 where they won 3 La Liga titles, 3 Spanish Super Cups, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Intercontinental Cup and 3 UEFA Champions League titles.
Raul spent 17 seasons at Madrid with his favourite side, leading the club for seven years, before finally passing the torch to Cristiano Ronaldo and moving to the Bundesliga to join Schalke in 2010. Two seasons at the Ruhr region and two titles later, DFB Pokal and DFL Super Cup, Raul moved to Qatar to join Al Sadd. Another two titles and another two seasons later the legendary striker moved to MLS signing for New York Cosmos before retiring from the game in 2015.
The Madrid-born striker was in a way arrived a bit too early when talking about his international career. He scored a then-national record of 44 goals in 102 matches but saw his beloved nation winning the Euro Cup and the World Cup three years after he made his final appearance.
A player of legendary status, Raul broke numerous records and was the benchmark for many of the upcoming strikers today. He won 6 La Liga's and won the Pichichi on two occasions. One of the players in the original Galactico era, Raul scored an incredible 228 goals 550 league appearance.
4. Hugo Sanchez - 234 goals
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| The Mexican goal-machine |
Widely regarded as the greatest Mexican player of all-time, Hugo Sanchez was goalscoring machine. Having started his career in hometown club of UNAM, Sanchez made his debut in 1976 after three years in the academy. A prolific goalscorer in his early stages, Sanchez played a crucial role for the Mexican side as they won league titles and two continental titles.
The goalscoring prowess of the young Mexican drew the attention of Europe's elite, eventually signing for Atletico Madrid in 1981. After struggling in his initial season, Sanchez quickly established himself as one of the best striker's in Spain. A Copa del Rey and a Pichichi trophy in the 1984/85 seasons prompted cross-rivals Real Madrid to sign the striker from arch-rivals.
Part of the now-famous 'La Quinta del Buitre' or 'Vulture's Cohort' along with Emilio Butragueno, Manuel Sanchis, Martin Vazquez, Miguel and Miguel Pardeza, Los Blancos dominated the Spanish league from the mid-1980s winning 5 straight La Liga's, Copa del Rey and 3 Spanish Super Cups.
Sanchez left the Los Blancos in 1992 returning to his homeland to join Club America before making his final appearance in the La Liga with Rayo Vallecano during the 93/94 season. Stints with Atlante, Linz, Dallas Burn and Celaya followed before retiring from the game in 1997.
A prolific goalscorer wherever he went, Sanchez scored close to five hundred goals in his entire career. In his 11 seasons in Spain, Sanchez scored an incredible 234 goals in 347 matches, winning the Pichichi on five occasions.
3. Telmo Zarra - 251 goals
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| The man before Lionel Mess |
The man who held many of the goalscoring records in Spain, the man who many believe is Athletico Bilbao's greatest ever to wear the jersey. Telmo Zarraonandia Montoya or simply Telmo Zarra started his career in his hometown with local side Erandio in 1939 before joining Athletico Bilbao the next year.
It was at the Basque county that Zarra famously made a name for himself. Leading the Bilbao attack, Zarra terrorised the opposition defence. The Spaniard played an incredible 15 seasons with Los Leones, winning a record 6 Pichichi trophies, 5 Copa del Rey titles, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 1 La Liga title. Zarra left the club in 1955 and continued playing in the second division with Indautxu and Barakaldo before retiring from the game in 1957.
His goalscoring record stood for almost 60 years before two-generational players outscored him. An almost perfect record of 20 goals in 20 international matches, 81 Copa del Rey goals, most goals in Copa del Rey and the goalscoring record lists go on.
A goalscorer par excellence, Telmo Zarra scored an incredible 251 goals in just 278 appearances. Despite his goalscoring heroics, Bilbao never managed to bring back their success during the pre-Second World War era.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 311 goals
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| The most efficient goalscorer in the history of La Liga |
Goals, records and titles go hand in hand for the great Portuguese. A player whose brilliance is often marred by the presence of his contemporary and the first player in this list, Lionel Messi. There are no words to describe how great a player, a goalscorer and a brand Cristiano Ronaldo is.
Starting his career with the famed Sporting CP academy, Ronaldo made his debut at the age of 18 for the Portuguese giants in 2002. A year in Primeira Liga was followed by a big-money move to Manchester United after impressing Sir Alex Ferguson during a friendly match with Manchester United.
Given the task of wearing the famed Number 7 jersey of Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo burst onto the world of football under the watchful tutelage of legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson. After initial struggles, Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the English Premier League till he became the world's most expensive player and move to Real Madrid in 2009.
Already a Champions League winner and a Balon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo terrorised La Liga defences. Cristiano Ronaldo created nightmares for La Liga defenders as the Portuguese helped Real Madrid break the Barcelona stronghold over the Spanish league. Countless goalscoring records, record-breaking El-Classico views, globalisation of the La Liga and many more occurred following the arrival of the great Portuguese.
Despite all the accolades, Cristiano Ronaldo remained second-fiddle to his great counterpart, Lionel Messi, in the domestic league winning just two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey and two Spanish Super Cups during his nine seasons at Madrid. The European stage though was a different case with the forward winning four Champions League titles including three straight ones. Individual accolades include five Balon d'Ors. Cristiano Ronaldo abruptly ended his La Liga sojourn, joining Serie A giants Juventus in 2018 following an impressive World Cup.
Equally good at the international level, Ronaldo remains the active leading goalscorer in international football. He is also the second in the all-time list behind Ali Daei. The forward also guided his nation to their first-ever international trophy in 2018., the Euro Cup in France.
A winger-turned striker, Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the greatest ever to grace the field. Good with both his feet, Ronaldo is very likely to remain as La Liga's most efficient goalscorer. The Portuguese scored a staggering 25+ goals in each of his campaigns in Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended his Spanish career after winning three Pichichi trophies and scoring an impressive 311 goals in just 292 appearances, an average of more than 1 goal each match.
1. Lionel Messi - 438 goals
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| The Greatest player of this generation |
A list of La Liga goalscorers is sure to be unfilled without the addition of the maestro. One of the most gifted players of all-time, Lionel Messi is the active and leading goalscorer in the history of the La Liga. Being in an internet friendly world, there isn't much that is not recorded about the Argentine magician that the world doesn't know about.
Starting his career at the famed La Masia, Lionel Messi made his debut for the reserve side in 2003 before making his first-team appearance in 2004. It took a while for the young Messi to establish himself in the star-studded first team but soon became an integral part of the team. Under the wing of Brazilian magician Ronaldinho, Messi learned his trade before taking over from the World Cup winner following the arrival of Pep Guardiola.
With Guardiola at the helm, Lionel Messi dominated the world of football winning numerous trophies as well as breaking countless records. The Luis Enrique era brought in one of the most feared attacking trio the world has ever seen with likes of Luis Suarez and Neymar joining Lionel Messi. Following the departure of Neymar to PSG, La Pulga has been on a level rarely reached by any football player.
A goalscorer, a playmaker, a leader, a motivator and whatnot, Lionel Messi has been Barcelona and vice versa, The Argentine has won an impressive 34 trophies with his club including a jaw-dropping 10 La Liga titles, 6 Copa del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 3 FIFA Club World Cups.
Lionel Messi though has been one of the most unluckiest players on earth when taking the international stage into account. Three straight finals defeat between 2014 and 2016 further dented his hopes of ending the Albiceleste's wretched trophy-less run and ending his own wait for an international trophy.
A winner of 6 Balon d'Or trophies, Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest ever player to play in the La Liga. Born with a wand of a left foot, Lionel Messi has scored an incredible 438 goals in 474 La Liga appearances. The Argentine magician is unlikely to slow down any soon with Barcelona still searching for another man to take the mantle of their superstar.
Also Read: Top 15 leading goalscorers in La Liga: 6-10
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