The all-time top scorers in the history of El Clasico, including Barcelona icon Lionel Messi and his Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

HIGHLIGHTS

 El Clasico has pitted Barcelona and Real Madrid against one another since 1902.
 Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated the rivalry for a decade between 2009 and 2018.
 Legendary figures such as Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho starred in El Clasico but are not among the fixture’s top scorers.

Meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid have been defined by politics, refereeing controversies and pig heads. But above and beyond everything else, El Clasico has been lit up by incredible players.

The two undisputed giants of Spanish and European football have boasted a staggering 14 Ballon d’Or winners between them. Andriy Shevchenko was the last player to be crowned the best in the world without ever turning out for Barcelona or Real Madrid all the way back in 2004.

This rivalry has been the stage for so many legendary figures over the years, yet a glittering glut of players still miss out on the list of top scorers. Neither Zinedine Zidane nor Ronaldinho – two of the greatest individuals of all time – managed to hit double digits in the grand setting of El Clasico. Here is a look at the rivalry’s most prolific players.

Top Scorers in El Clasico History

Rank
Player
Active Years
Goals

1
Lionel Messi
2004–2021
26

2
Alfredo Di Stefano
1953–1964
18

3
Cristiano Ronaldo
2009–2018
18

4
Karim Benzema
2009–2023
16

5
Raul
1994–2010
15

6
Cesar Rodriguez
1939–1955
14

7
Paco Gento
1953–1971
14

8
Ferenc Puskas
1958–1966
14

9
Santillana
1971–1988
12

10
Luis Suarez
2014–2020
11

GIVEMESPORT look at the most dominant victories in the history of Real Madrid vs Barcelona.

10Luis Suarez

11 goals

The four-month suspension Luis Suarez sustained for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup conveniently concluded just before Barcelona’s trip to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu. The former Liverpool forward needed only four minutes to tee up Neymar for the game’s opening goal but his Clasico debut ended in a 3-1 defeat.

More than a quarter of Suarez’s Clasico haul arrived in a 5-1 demolition of Real Madrid at Camp Nou in October 2018. Lionel Messi was nursing a broken arm, so dropped by Suarez’s home – he only lived next door – and took the Uruguayan’s children to watch their dad score a hat-trick in European football’s biggest rivalry.

Barcelona career
2014–2020

Clasico appearances
15

Wins
7

Draws
4

Losses
4

9Santillana

12 goals

As the 1970s bled into the 1980s, Barcelona knew that a trip to Real Madrid would involve plenty of nationalistic rhetoric, sharp barbs from the home fans and a goal for Santillana. Real Madrid’s reliable striker became the first player to ever score in four consecutive league games against the Catalan giants at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Though that isn’t to suggest that Santillana had to rely upon home comforts. No other individual on either side of the rivalry has ever scored a Clasico goal in more unique venues than the Spanish striker. Santillana found the net at Camp Nou four times, while also striking for Madrid in two finals of the Copa del Rey held at different neutral venues.

Real Madrid career
1971–1988

Clasico appearances
35

Wins
13

Draws
7

Losses
15

8Ferenc Puskas

14 goals

If Real Madrid’s board had gotten their way, Ferenc Puskas would not have scored a single goal in El Clasico, let alone 14. Club president Santiago Bernabeu ignored Madrid’s directors to sign the Hungarian forward in 1956, aged 29 and 18kg overweight. ‘The Galloping Major’ shed some of that timber – although his teammate Juanito joked that he “played pregnant” – but never lost his talent.

Boasting a venomous left foot and an unparalleled appreciation of space, Puskas bagged not one but two Clasico hat-tricks. The Hungarian finisher scored in both legs of the 1960 European Cup semi-final against Barcelona, a feat made all the sweeter by the constant pre-game goading carried out by his Hungarian compatriots playing in Catalonia.

Real Madrid career
1958–1966

Clasico appearances
18

Wins
11

Draws
1

Losses
6

It’s one of the biggest games in football, but who has the edge?

7Paco Gento

14 goals

Josep Seguer had the thankless task of marking Real Madrid’s jet-heeled left-winger, Paco Gento during one of his first Clasicos. Halfway through the contest, Gento remembers the sweat-soaked full-back panting: “Are you ever going to get off your bike?”

Nicknamed the ‘Galerna’ after the wind that whistles through his local area, Gento was once hailed as “the quickest thing on two legs” by Puskas. The fleet-footed wide man also boasted remarkable longevity, lasting 18 years at the sport’s summit with Real Madrid. By the time Gento appeared in his final Clasico, still with a turn of pace on his side, Seguer was Barcelona’s manager.

Real Madrid career
1953–1971

Clasico appearances
45

Wins
22

Draws
8

Losses
15

6Cesar Rodriguez

14 goals

Barcelona’s official all-time top scorer before a certain Lionel Messi surpassed his high watermark (at the ripe old age of 24), Cesar Rodriguez was indiscriminately prolific for the Catalan giants. The nippy forward was the sharp edge of Barcelona’s first great side that won five trophies in the 1951/1952 season.

Cesar scored in that year’s final of Spain’s domestic cup competition (then known as the Copa del Generalismo) and the Latin Cup (a forerunner to the Champions League) but his most precious strikes were saved for El Clasico. Cesar teed up Jordi Vila’s opener before helping himself to a hat-trick in a wonderfully helter-skelter 4-2 victory over Madrid at the start of March 1952, strengthening Barcelona’s stranglehold on first place in La Liga.

Barcelona career
1939–1955

Clasico appearances
28

Wins
13

Draws
2

Losses
13

5Raul

15 goals

Pop into any sports bar in Madrid – there are plenty to choose from – and there is a strong chance that a boyish Raul with a finger over his lips will be staring back at you from within a frame. The Real Madrid icon dedicated almost two decades to the capital giants, leaving as the club’s all-time top scorer in 2010 with a stack of trophies.

Raul scored in two Champions League finals but his most fondly remembered goal salvaged a 2-2 draw against Barcelona in 1999. The angular Spain international had opened the scoring at Camp Nou before the hosts roared back in front. As the match ticked into the 86th minute, Raul scampered into the box and deftly dinked Madrid level. The stunned Barcelona fans fell silent until they realised Raul was shushing them, but the whistles were music to his ears.

Real Madrid career
1994–2010

Clasico appearances
37

Wins
11

Draws
10

Losses
16

4Karim Benzema

16 goals

To focus purely on Karim Benzema’s goals does the French striker a disservice. Zinedine Zidane once described him as “a total footballer”, while Carlo Ancelotti insisted that merely calling him a centre-forward “stopped short”. But Benzema scored so frequently in the biggest game of every year that it’s impossible to ignore.

Even while playing second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema found the net against Barcelona in five consecutive seasons. The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner truly blossomed once his Portuguese teammate left Madrid, deciding the second leg of a Copa del Rey semi-final in 2023 with a staggering second-half hat-trick at Camp Nou. The 4-0 win that Benzema orchestrated was the joint-heaviest home defeat in Barcelona’s history.

Real Madrid career
2009–2023

Clasico appearances
43

Wins
15

Draws
9

Losses
19

3Cristiano Ronaldo

18 goals

It seems inconceivable in hindsight but Cristiano Ronaldo had been lumbered with the tag of a ‘big-game bottler’ during his first couple of years at Real Madrid. Arriving as the most expensive player in the history of the sport, Ronaldo lost his first three Clasicos without scoring once. Few would pass him by thereafter.

A towering header won the 2011 Copa del Rey final for Madrid against Barcelona while his strike at Camp Nou the following year effectively wrestled the league title off Pep Guardiola’s legendary side. Ronaldo rounded Victor Valdes and stuffed the ball into the net before imploring a humbled Camp Nou crowd to calm down with an instantly iconic celebration.

Real Madrid career
2009–2018

Clasico appearances
30

Wins
8

Draws
8

Losses
14

2Alfredo Di Stefano

18 goals

Alfredo Di Stefano may not be the most prolific player in El Clasico history, but he is unquestionably the most important. Both Barcelona and Real Madrid thought they had signed the Argentinian superstar when he was searching for a way out of Colombian side Millonarios in 1953, leading to a bitter dispute that had to be settled by FIFA and a rift that has never healed.

The Spanish giants initially agreed to share Di Stefano before Madrid paid Barcelona a fortune to keep him for themselves. Two days after the paperwork was finally finished, Di Stefano scored twice in a 5-0 annihilation of the Catalans. A position-less maestro who was rated more highly than Pele, Di Stefano was so good he won the Super Ballon d’Or.

Real Madrid career
1953–1964

Clasico appearances
30

Wins
17

Draws
3

Losses
10

1Lionel Messi

26 goals

Meetings with Real Madrid have acted as staging posts in Lionel Messi’s career. A hat-trick as a 19-year-old to earn a 3-3 draw in 2007, one of most exciting Clasicos ever, announced Messi to the wider world. The first game he ever played as a false nine was a 6-2 demolition of Madrid at the Bernabeu, both of his goals the consequence of Pep Guardiola’s tactical ingenuity which utterly bamboozled the beaten hosts.

Messi was at his untouchable peak during Barcelona’s all-conquering 2010/2011 campaign, almost single-handedly knocking Madrid out of the Champions League semi-finals with a spell-binding solo goal. Even towards the twilight of his career in Catalonia, Barcelona’s talisman turned it on against Madrid. There were just 13 seconds left on the clock when Messi swept the winning goal into the bottom corner in April 2017. As Madrid players sunk to the turf in defeat, Messi took off his shirt to show the Bernabeu crowd the name and number of their downfall once again.

Barcelona career
2004–2021

Clasico appearances
45

Wins
19

Draws
11

Losses
15

All stats are correct as of 25/03/24 and via TransferMarkt