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The 10 La Liga Top Scorers Of All Time

The 10 La Liga Top Scorers Of All Time

La Liga is one of the most revered soccer divisions on the planet, known across the land for hosting world-class players and historic teams such as FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Over the years, some unbelievable attacking players have graced the Spanish top flight, scoring goals and providing moments of creative genius to get fans off their seats. In this article, we'll be working our way through some of the standout talents to have led the line in La Liga over the decades. But before we start exploring the La Liga all time top scorers, let's briefly explain the history of this prestigious league.

A Brief Guide To La Liga

La Liga will soon celebrate its centenary, having been formed in 1929. Now known officially as LaLiga EA Sports due to sponsorship reasons, La Liga is the top division in the Spanish football pyramid. The league consists of 20 teams, each team contesting a 38-game season in which they play each other side twice, once at home and once away from home. 

The team that finishes top of the league wins the division's trophy, while the Top 4 teams all qualify for the Champions League group stages. Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth-placed teams, as well as the side that wins the Copa Del Rey (Spain's biggest domestic knockout trophy) all qualify for the Europa League group stages, and the seventh-placed club will enter the play-off stages for the Europa Conference League. The three bottom sides at the end of each season will be relegated to La Liga 2 (also known as Segunda Division), the Spanish second tier.

The most successful club in La Liga history is Real Madrid, who have secured a whopping 35 titles, followed by Barcelona with 27 titles. Other clubs to have won Spanish football's top prize on multiple occasions include Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, and Valencia. There have also been some major shocks over the years. Earlier this season, FC Girona — a club that has only ever completed four seasons in the top flight — defied all odds and led the pack for several months, dropping off slightly but still set to finish an admirable 3rd in the league. You can find out more about the remarkable rise of Girona here.

The Best La Liga Forwards In 2024

Part of the reason FC Girona have been able to compete at the very top throughout 2023/24 is their star striker, Artem Dovbyk. The Ukrainian forward has been a revelation, scoring 18 goals and registering 5 assists so far this campaign campaign, to lead the La Liga top scorers chart for 2023/24.

Dovbyk is closely followed by the aforementioned Jude Bellingham; while the England youngster is not an out-and-out striker, his attacking record since joining Madrid has been phenomenal, with the 20-year-old grabbing 17 goals and 4 assists so far. Another outstanding forward in Madrid's ranks is Vinicius Junior, the Brazil international whose electric pace, skillful footwork and finishing ability means he already has 47 goals and 38 assists in 172 La Liga appearances for Los Blancos.

Elsewhere across the division, some of the other top La Liga forwards in 2024 include Atletico's Antoine Griezmann, Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, Osasuna's Ante Budimir, Villareal's Alexander Sorloth, and Getafe's Borja Mayoral.

What Is The Pichichi Award?

Each season, the Pichichi Award is handed to the player who scores the most goals in La Liga. Awarded by the popular sports newspaper Marca, the Pichichi Trophy is named after former Athletic Bilbao striker Rafael 'Pichichi' Moreno, a legendary forward who scored 83 goals in 89 games for the Basque side and tragically died before his 30th birthday.

La Liga was founded in 1929, a few years after Moreno's death, and the Trofeo Pichichi was honored after the striker, who made a huge impact on Spanish football in the first quarter of the 20th century. The most recent winner is the prolific Polishman Robert Lewadowski, who scored 23 goals for Barcelona during the 2022/23 campaign. The player with the most Pichichi Award wins is Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi, who has a record eight trophies.

La Liga Top Scorers By Season (1929 - 2023)

Some truly iconic players have plied their trade in La Liga over the years. Below is a list of every single man to have secured the La Liga top goalscorer award since the competition's inception.

Season

Player

Club

Goals

Games

G/G Ratio

1929

Paco Bienzobas

Real Sociedad

17

18

0.94

1929-30

Guillermo Gorostiza

Athletic Bilbao

20

18

1.11

1930-31

Bata

Athletic Bilbao

27

17

1.59

1931-32

Bata

Athletic Bilbao

13

18

0.72

1932-33

Manuel Olivares

Real Madrid

16

14

1.14

1933-34

Isidro Langara

Oviedo

26

18

1.44

1934-35

Isidro Langara

Oviedo

27

22

1.23

1935-36

Isidro Langara

Oviedo

28

21

1.33

1939-40

Victor Unamuno

Athletic Bilbao

20

22

0.91

1940-41

Pruden

Atletico Madrid

33

22

1.5

1941-42

Mundo

Valencia

27

25

1.08

1942-43

Mariano Martin

Barcelona

30

23

1.3

1943-44

Mundo

Valencia

28

26

1.08

1944-45

Telmo Zarra

Athletic Bilbao

20

26

0.77

1945-46

Telmo Zarra 

Athletic Bilbao

24

18

1.33

1946-47

Telmo Zarra 

Athletic Bilbao

33

24

1.38

1947-48

Pahiño

Celta Vigo

20

22

0.91

1948-49

Cesar

Barcelona

27

24

1.13

1949-50

Telmo Zarra

Athletic Bilbao

24

26

0.92

1950-51

Telmo Zarra

Athletic Bilbao

38

30

1.27

1951-52

Pahiño

Real Madrid

28

27

1.04

1952-53

Telmo Zarra

Athletic Bilbao

24

29

0.83

1953-54

Alfredo di Stefano

Real Madrid

27

28

0.96

1954-55

Juan Arza

Sevilla

28

29

0.97

1955-56

Alfredo di Stefano

Real Madrid

24

30

0.8

1956-57

Alfredo di Stefano

Real Madrid

31

30

1.03

1957-58

Manuel Badenes

Valladolid

19

29

0.66

 

Alfredo di Stefano

Real Madrid

19

30

0.63

 

Ricardo Alos

Valencia

19

29

0.66

1958-59

Alfredo di Stefano

Real Madrid

23

28

0.82

1959-60

Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid

25

24

1.04

1960-61

Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid

28

28

1

1961-62

Juan Seminario

Real Zaragoza

25

30

0.83

1962-63

Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid

26

30

0.87

1963-64

Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid

21

25

0.84

1964-65

Cayetano Ré

Barcelona

26

30

0.87

1965-66

Luis Aragones

Atletico Madrid

18

28

0.64

1966-67

Waldo

Valencia

24

30

0.8

1967-68

Fidel Uriarte

Athletic Bilbao

22

24

0.92

1968-69

Amancio

Real Madrid

14

29

0.48

 

Jose Eulogio Garate

Atletico Madrid

14

30

0.47

1969-70

Amancio

Real Madrid

16

29

0.55

 

Luis Aragones

Atletico Madrid

16

30

0.53

 

Jose Eulogio Garate

Atletico Madrid

16

30

0.53

1970-71

Jose Eulogio Garate

Atletico Madrid

17

28

0.61

 

Carles Rexach

Barcelona

17

28

0.61

1971-71

Enrique Porta

Granada

20

31

0.65

1971-72

Marianin

Oviedo

19

32

0.59

1973-74

Quini

Sporting Gijon

20

34

0.59

1974-75

Carlos

Athletic Bilbao

19

32

0.59

1975-76

Quini

Sporting Gijon

21

34

0.62

1976-77

Mario Kempes

Valencia

24

34

0.71

1977-78

Mario Kempes

Valencia

28

34

0.82

1978-79

Hans Krankl

Barcelona

29

30

0.97

1979-80

Quini

Sporting Gijon

24

34

0.71

1980-81

Quini

Barcelona

20

30

0.67

1981-82

Quini

Barcelona

27

32

0.84

1982-83

Poli Rincon

Real Betis

20

30

0.67

1983-84

Jorge da Silva

Valladolid

17

30

0.57

 

Juanito

Real Madrid

17

31

0.55

1984-85

Hugo Sanchez

Atletico Madrid 

19

33

0.58

1985-86

Hugo Sanchez

Real Madrid

22

33

0.67

1986-87

Hugo Sanchez

Real Madrid

34

41

0.83

1987-88

Hugo Sanchez

Real Madrid

29

36

0.81

1988-89

Baltazar

Atletico Madrid

35

36

0.97

1989-90

Hugo Sanchez

Real Madrid

38

35

1.09

1990-91

Emilio Butragueño

Real Madrid

19

35

0.54

1991-92

Manolo

Atletico Madrid

27

36

0.75

1992-93

Bebeto

Deportivo La Coruña

29

37

0.78

1993-94

Romario

Barcelona

30

33

0.91

1994-95

Ivan Zamorano

Real Madrid

28

38

0.74

1995-95

Juan Antonio Pizzi

Tenerife

31

41

0.76

1996-97

Ronaldo

Barcelona

34

37

0.92

1997-98

Christian Vieri

Atletico Madrid

24

24

1

1998-99

Raul

Real Madrid

25

37

0.68

1999-2000

Salva Ballesta

Racing Santander

27

36

0.75

2000-01

Raul

Real Madrid

24

36

0.67

2001-02

Diego Tristan

Deportivo La Coruña

20

35

0.57

2002-03

Roy Makaay

Deportivo La Coruña

29

38

0.76

2003-04

Ronaldo

Real Madrid

24

32

0.75

2004-05

Diego Forlan

Villareal

25

38

0.66

 

Samuel Eto'o

Barcelona

25

37

0.68

2005-06

Samuel Eto'o

Barcelona

26

34

0.76

2006-07

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Real Madrid

25

37

0.68

2007-08

Daniel Guiza

Mallorca

27

37

0.73

2008-09

Diego Forlan

Atletico Madrid

32

33

0.97

2009-10

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

34

35

0.91

2010-11

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

40

34

1.18

2011-12

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

50

37

1.35

2012-13

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

46

32

1.44

2013-14

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

31

30

1.03

2014-15

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid

48

35

1.37

2015-16

Luis Suarez

Barcelona

40

35

1.11

2016-17

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

37

34

1.09

2017-18

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

34

36

0.94

2018-19

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

36

34

1.06

2019-20

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

25

33

0.76

2020-21

Lionel Messi

Barcelona

30

35

0.86

2021-22

Karim Benzema

Real Madrid

27

32

0.84

2022-23

Robert Lewandowski

Barcelona

23

34

0.68

 

The 10 La Liga Top Scorers Of All Time

As you'll have seen in the above table, numerous players have won the Pichichi Award on multiple occasions. The total goals scored in La Liga by some of those players is quite frankly ridiculous…

#10. Pahiño (214 goals)

Vigo-borno striker Pahiño played 278 La Liga matches between 1943 and 1957, scoring a total of 14 goals for clubs such as Celta Vigo, Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruña.

#9. Quini (219 goals)

Enrique Castro González — widely known by his nickname 'Quini' — is arguably Sporting Gijon's most legendary player ever. During two spells at the club (interrupted by a four-year stint at Barcelona), he scored a total of 219 La Liga goals.

#8. Cesar (221 goals)

An all-time great at Barca, Cesar was a La Liga ever-present during the 1940s and 50s, racking up a whopping 221 goals in the division.

#7. Alfredo di Stefano (227 goals)

One of the most famous names in the history of football, Argentina-born Alfredo di Stefano played a major role in creating Real Madrid's worldwide 'Galacticos' image; the two-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 227 La Liga goals for Los Blancos and was the first non-Spanish-born player to win the Pichichi award.

#6. Raul (229 goals)

A legend of the Spanish game, Raul was a dominant force for Madrid during the 1990s and 2000s, racking up a total of 229 goals in 550 appearances.

#5. Hugo Sanchez (234 goals)

Viewed by many as Mexico's greatest-ever player, Sanchez was La Liga top scorer for four consecutive seasons in the mid-late 1980s, a remarkable record that helped him register 234 goals in the division.

#4. Karim Benzema (238 goals)

One of the few players in this list still playing today, the French Ballon d'Or winner spent most of his career banging goals in for Madrid, notching an impressive tally of 238 in La Liga.

#3. Telmo Zarra (251 goals)

Bronze place is taken by Spanish great Telmo Zarra, a Bilbao legend who bagged a remarkable 251 goals during the 1940s and 50s, winning the Pichichi Award on five occasions.

#2. Cristiano Ronaldo (311 goals)

In terms of numbers, we take a big jump up to second place, where Portuguese all-time top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo can be found. The Al-Nassr striker battled it out at the top of La Liga for years, winning two league titles and three Pichichi Awards.

#1. Lionel Messi (474 goals)

Ronaldo's mark on La Liga was great, but Messi's was even greater. The Argentine magician scored an incredible 474 goals in the division during his long career with Barcelona, as well as 192 assists and a ridiculous total of 36 hat-tricks. It's unlikely that anyone will ever break Messi's record as the top goalscorer in La Liga history.

Want to find out about more remarkable football records? Check out our guide to the players with the most assists in soccer history, or find out the Bundesliga's 10 all-time top scorers.