Find out who joins Messi and Ronaldo in top 10 La Liga goalscorers of 21st century

David Cooper - Writer 13:57 23/02/2019
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  • La Liga has been graced by many of football’s greatest forwards.

    Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo set new standards for goalscoring in Spain’s top flight.

    But who else joins this legendary duo in the 21st century’s top 10 scorers list?

    Lionel Messi – 405 goals

    Messi is the top scorer this century, and it isn’t even close. The Argentine has broken record after record during his 15 seasons representing Barcelona in the top division of Spanish football and his haul of over 400 goals has helped earn him nine La Liga championships. The iconic number 10 has also won the Pichichi award for the top scorer in a season on five occasions.

    Cristiano Ronaldo – 311 goals

    There was only one player capable of keeping pace with Messi’s eye-boggling goalscoring record and that was Cristiano Ronaldo, who often matched or bettered the Barça forward during his nine seasons with Real Madrid. Ronaldo averaged 35 La Liga goals per season and won three Pichichi awards.

    David Villa – 185 goals

    Making Villa’s scoring record all the more impressive is the fact that he was able to bang in the goals at four different clubs. No matter what environment or situation he found himself in, his knack for putting the ball in the back of the net persisted. He finished his La Liga career with 32 goals for Real Zaragoza, 107 for Valencia, 33 for Barcelona and 13 for Atletico Madrid.

    Aritz Aduriz – 157 goals

    Aduriz is like a fine wine; he seems to be getting better with age. He has been scoring goals in La Liga since 2006 for Athletic Bilbao, Mallorca and Valencia, but his best season came in 2015/16 when he hit the 20-goal mark at the age of 35.

    Samuel Eto’o – 154 goals

    One of just two players on this list to have also played in La Liga in the 20th century, the Cameroonian forward’s total La Liga goals tally stands at 162 goals, with all but eight of these netted in 2001 or later. He played for Real Madrid, Real Mallorca and Barcelona during his time in Spain, with his greatest successes coming in Catalonia, where he won the Pichichi in 2005/06.

    Karim Benzema – 137 goals

    Benzema has been much more than a centre-forward during his time at Real Madrid and has even gone as far as defining himself as a No.9 with the soul of a No.10. His 83 La Liga assists prove that he loves to create for teammates as well as score himself but still managed to rack up the sixth-top 21st century tally of 137 goals.

    Antoine Griezmann – 131 goals

    The other Frenchman on this list is Griezmann, who has been Atletico’s attacking leader since 2014. Previously at Real Sociedad, he notched 40 goals in his four top-flight seasons with the Basque club. Now the main man at Atleti, the World Cup-winning No.7 has celebrated 91 La Liga strikes in red and white.

    Diego Forlan – 128 goals

    Forlan is a two-time recipient of the Pichichi award, winning it in 2004/05 with Villarreal and in 2008/09 with Atleti. The Uruguayan’s 54 goals for the Yellow Submarine and his 74 goals for Los Rojiblancos have earned him legend status at both institutions.

    Luis Suarez – 125 goals

    Suarez is the only player to have prized the Pichichi trophy away from Messi and Ronaldo’s dual grip over the past decade, an impressive achievement considering the unbelievable numbers those two forwards consistently put up. Suarez won it in 2015/16 with an unbelievable 40-goal season, one of his three La Liga-winning seasons from his four full years in Spain.

    Raul Tamudo – 122 goals

    Tamudo is, along with Eto’o, one of the two players on this list to have also played in the Spanish top flight in the previous century. The Spaniard bagged 137 goals in total during his top-flight career and 122 of these came in the 21st century for Espanyol, Real Sociedad and Rayo Vallecano. He was and is an Espanyol legend, having netted 105 La Liga goals for Los Pericos, making him their all-time top scorer.

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