La Liga All-Time Top Scorers
The leading goalscorers in the history of La Liga, Spain's top flight, ranked by total league goals, from Lionel Messi's record haul to the legends of the Spanish game.
Most goals(La Liga)
- 1
Lionel MessiArgentina474Goals - 2
Cristiano RonaldoPortugal311Goals - 3
Telmo ZarraSpain251Goals - 4
Karim BenzemaFrance238Goals - 5
Hugo SánchezMexico234Goals - 6
RaúlSpain228Goals - 7
Alfredo Di StéfanoSpain227Goals - 8
César RodríguezSpain221Goals - 9
QuiniSpain219Goals - 10
PahiñoSpain212Goals - 11
Antoine GriezmannFrance205Goals - 12MSMundo (Edmundo Suárez)Spain195Goals
- 13
David VillaSpain186Goals - 14SASantillanaSpain186Goals
- 15GGGuillermo GorostizaSpain183Goals
- 16JAJuan ArzaSpain182Goals
- 17
Luis SuárezUruguay179Goals - 18
Iago AspasActiveSpain170Goals - 19SE
Samuel Eto'oCameroon162Goals - 20LALuis AragonésSpain160Goals
Source: Wikipedia, “List of La Liga top scorers”, as of July 2026. Figures count La Liga (top-flight) goals only. Totals for active players such as Iago Aspas continue to rise.
Messi, Ronaldo and the kings of Spanish football
La Liga has been home to some of the greatest goalscorers the game has ever seen, and one name stands far above the rest. Lionel Messi's 474 goals, all for Barcelona, are a record that may never be beaten, more than 150 clear of anyone else, and built on a single-season high of 50 goals in 2011–12.
Cristiano Ronaldo (311) pushed Messi every step of the way during the Clásico years, scoring at an astonishing rate for Real Madrid. Behind the modern duo stands Telmo Zarra (251), the Athletic Bilbao legend whose record stood for some 60 years until Messi overtook it in 2014.
The list is a history of Spanish football itself: Real Madrid greats Karim Benzema (238), Raúl (228) and Alfredo Di Stéfano (227); Mexico's Hugo Sánchez (234), one of the finest imports the league has known; and mid-century marksmen such as César Rodríguez (221) and Quini (219).
Among current players, Celta Vigo's Iago Aspas leads the way and is the only active member of the all-time top 20, a rare one-club talisman in the modern era. But with Messi long gone to Inter Miami, his La Liga record looks safe for a generation.
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Frequently asked questions
Who is the all-time top scorer in La Liga?+
Lionel Messi is La Liga's all-time leading goalscorer with 474 goals, all scored for Barcelona. He overtook Telmo Zarra's long-standing record in 2014 and finished more than 150 goals clear of any other player.
How many La Liga goals did Cristiano Ronaldo score?+
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 311 La Liga goals for Real Madrid, second on the all-time list. He reached the total in just nine seasons, the fastest scoring rate of anyone near the top of the chart.
Who held the La Liga scoring record before Messi?+
Telmo Zarra of Athletic Bilbao held the record for around 60 years with 251 goals, until Lionel Messi passed him in 2014. Zarra's tally still ranks third all-time and he won the league's top-scorer award six times.
Who has scored the most La Liga goals in a single season?+
Lionel Messi holds the single-season record with 50 goals in the 2011–12 campaign for Barcelona, the most any player has scored in one La Liga season.
Which active player has the most La Liga goals?+
Iago Aspas of Celta Vigo is the top active scorer inside the all-time top 20, with 170 La Liga goals. He is the highest-scoring one-club specialist among current players.
Does this list include Segunda División goals?+
No. These figures count goals in La Liga, Spain's top flight, only. Goals scored in the Segunda División or other competitions such as the Copa del Rey and Champions League are not included.