La Liga has been home to some of the most prolific goalscorers football has ever seen. From a 1940s Athletic Bilbao legend to the Messi–Ronaldo era, here are the all-time top scorers in Spanish top-flight history.
La Liga all-time top scorers (top 10)
| Rank | Player | Goals | Main club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 474 | Barcelona |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 311 | Real Madrid |
| 3 | Telmo Zarra | 251 | Athletic Bilbao |
| 4 | Karim Benzema | 238 | Real Madrid |
| 5 | Hugo Sánchez | 234 | Atlético / Real Madrid |
| 6 | Raúl | 228 | Real Madrid |
| 7 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 227 | Real Madrid |
| 8 | César | 221 | Barcelona |
| 9 | Quini | 219 | Sporting Gijón / Barcelona |
| 10 | Pahiño | 212 | Celta / Real Madrid |
Lionel Messi: in a league of his own
Messi's 474 La Liga goals — all for Barcelona — is a record that may never be broken. He was the league's top scorer eight times and holds the single-season record of 50 goals, set in 2011/12.
Zarra: the record that stood for 60 years
Before the modern era, Telmo Zarra was La Liga's all-time top scorer for some sixty years. Spain's award for the league's top home-grown scorer, the "Zarra Trophy", is named in his honour.
For the rivalry that produced two of these legends, read our El Clásico head-to-head, and watch the goals in our La Liga highlights.