10 greatest players in La Liga history ranked - Do Messi and Ronaldo make the cut?

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi
Xavi misses out but Lionel Messi makes the cut, what about Cristiano Ronaldo?

La Liga has witnessed some of the greatest names to have graced the game fight for top honours. From Telmo Zarra, Alfredo di Stefano and Diego Maradona to Raul, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the Spanish league has been enthralled by one and all since its inception way back in 1926.

A grand total of 9,280 players have featured in the first and second division of Spanish football, including 854 goalkeepers up until the end of the 2016/17 season.

Centro de Investigaciones de Historia y Estadística del Fútbol Español (The Centre of Historical and Statistical Investigations of Spanish Football) had taken up the arduous task of analyzing all of these footballers to statistically determine the greatest ever to have played in the hallowed stadiums of Spain.

The study was conducted by Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz, who used coefficients like goals scored from open play, minutes played by season, penalties scored, own goals, red-cards and other parameters to chalk up a list of the best of the very best to have graced La Liga.

Here we present to you the 10 greatest footballers in La Liga history according to the study:


#10 Guillermo Gorostiza - Athletic Bilbao/Valencia

Guillermo Gorostiza
Guillermo Gorostiza (Image Courtesy: Mundo Deportivo)

Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes’ footballing career spanned over 20 years and saw him play for as much as 7 football clubs, all situated in Spain. However, the forward is famous for his spells with Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, where he spent a combined total of 17 years.

Signed from Racing Ferrol, Gorostiza helped Athletic Bilbao win the league title in his first year at the club coupled with the Copa del Rey, as he was also awarded the Pichichi for his individual exploits. During the 11 years he spent at the Basque outfit, the club could only participate in 8 league campaigns due to the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939.

Despite the odds, Gorostiza helped club Athletic win 4 league titles, coupled with another 4 Copa del Rey trophies, while being crowned the Pichichi winner on two occasions.

After the culmination of the war, the Spaniard moved to Valencia, where he spent another 6 successful seasons, helping Los Che win the La Liga title on two occasions, along with a solitary Copa del Generalisimo (Copa del Rey).

In all, Gorostiza amassed a total of 181 goals in 255 league games – an incredible feat. To add to that, he is also the 3rd highest scorer in the history of Copa del Rey, having notched up 62 goals in total.

The Athletic Bilbao legend features at 10th position in the ranking, with an overall score of 454.

#9 Santillana (Carlos Alonso González) - Real Madrid

Carlos Alonso González
Carlos Alonso González (Image Courtesy: Corazonblanco)

Carlos Alonso Gonzalez, better known as Santillana, is a Real Madrid legend who spent 17 seasons with the Santiago Bernabeu outfit, helping Los Blancos dominate Spain during his time with the club.

At the tender age of 19, Santillana, earned a move from Racing Santander to Los Merengues and had an instant impact, helping them win La Liga in the debut season, having scored 10 goals.

The Real Madrid forward made a name for himself as one of the best strikers in the history of Spanish football and was known for his heading ability, which is extremely impressive considering his relatively small height, 1.75m.

In total, Santillana netted 289 goals in 645 games for Real Madrid, while helping them win 9 league titles, along with 4 Copa del Rey titles, 2 UEFA Cups and a solitary Copa de La Liga. He was also crowned the winner of the Pichichi trophy of the second division, for his exploits in the 1970-71 season, when he scored 17 goals.

The 64-year-old also amassed 56 caps for the Spanish national team, while participating in two World Cups and European Championships, with Spain finishing as runners-up in the 1984 Euros.

With 464 points under his belt, the Spaniard features at 9th position in the list of the greatest footballers in the history of La Liga.

#8 Francisco Gento - Real Madrid

Francisco Gento
Francisco Gento

Franciso “Paco” Gento has the distinction of being the most decorated footballer in the history of Real Madrid, with 23 major trophies to his name, won during an 18-year-long spell with the Santiago Bernabeu outfit.

Much like Santillana, Gento also started his footballing career with Racing Santander before earning a move to Real Madrid at the age of 20. In the next 18 seasons, The Gale of the Cantabrian Sea, as he was known, rewrote Spanish history books like few have done since or before him.

The current honorary president of Real Madrid, Gento, won a record 6 European titles with the club having featured in a joint record right European Cup finals. And it does not end here, the 83-year-old won 12 La Liga titles during his time with Los Blancos – yet another record, which won’t be broken anytime soon.

The Spaniard made over 600 appearances for the Madrid giants, scoring 178 goals, playing as a wide forward on the left-hand side.

The winger was not only known for his lightning fast speed, with some claiming that he could complete 100metres in under 11 seconds, he was equally skillful and quick with the ball at his feet.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest Spanish players of all time, the Gale of the Cantabrian Sea, helped the Spanish national team win their first ever major international honour, when they won the 1964 European Championship.

Gento features on this list at 8th position with 467 points to his name.

#7 Alfredo di Stéfano - Real Madrid

Alfredo di Stefano
Alfredo di Stefano

Alfredo di Stefano is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest to have laced a pair of football boots. The Argentine had one of the most profound impacts in the animosity between Real Madrid and Barcelona, when he joined the former having already agreed on a move with the latter (more on that later).

Having made a name for himself at River Plate and subsequently Millonarios, Madrid president Santiago Bernabeu was quick to take advantage of the fiasco surrounding Di Stefano’s move to Barcelona and snapped him up, a decision which changed history as we know it.

The Argentine, who later represented the Spanish national team, spent 11 successful seasons with Real Madrid, helping them win 5 European Cups coupled with 8 La Liga titles and a solitary Copa del Rey and laid the foundation of the super club that Los Blancos currently identify themselves as.

"Saeta rubia" or "Blond Arrow" as he was popularly nicknamed, scored a total of 308 goals for Real Madrid in 396 appearances and has the distinction of being the only player in history to have scored in 5 consecutive European Cup finals – a feat unfathomable in the present scenario.

He is also the only player ever to have scored in 5 European Cup finals and along with his partner Ferenc Puskas, holds the record for most goals scored in European Cup finals, with the duo scoring 7 each. Di Stefano is also only second to Telmo Zarra in the all-time Pichichi race, having won it on 5 occasions to Zarra’s 6.

Di Stefano is also the only player in history to have been awarded the Super Ballon d’Or in 1989. The Real Madrid legend makes it to the list at 7th position, only marginally, and has 481.365 points to his name.

#6 Juan Arza - Sevilla

Juan Arza
Juan Arza (Image Courtesy: Marca)

Not many would have heard about Juan Arza or El Nino de Oro (The Golden Boy), for the Spaniard plied his trade for Sevilla and not for one of the two giants, Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Arza joined Sevilla at the age of 20 and spent 16 seasons with the Seville outfit, guiding them to their first ever La Liga title in 1945-46. During his time with the club, El Nino de Oro, scored a total of 207 official goals in over 400 official games.

Arza may not have had the most decorated career like some of the others on this list but he was pivotal in the history of the club where he spent almost his entire playing career. The Spaniard’s exploits helped Sevilla win the Cope del Rey trophy in 1948, while he himself won the Pichichi for his exploits in the 1954-55 season.

El Nino de Oro is 6th on the list but only marginally as he and Di Stefano have the same points and are separated by a few decimal points. Arza received 481.715 points.

#5 Enrique Castro Gonzalez "Quini" - Sporting Gijon/Barcelona

Enrique Castro Gonzalez aka Quini
Enrique Castro Gonzalez aka Quini

With a total of 7 Pichichi trophies to his name, 5 of which came in La Liga, Enrique Castro Gonzalez or Quini – as he was popularly known – is considered one of the greatest strikers to have ever played in Spain.

The Spaniard spent majority of his footballing career playing for Sporting Gijon and Barcelona, scoring 369 goals in 686 appearances. While he faced many disappointments with his beloved Gijon, it was Barcelona where he found success, winning 2 league titles, and one each of Supercopa de Espana, Copa de La Liga and UEFA Cup Winners Cup.

Quini is one of three players to have won 5 Pichichi trophies in La Liga, alongside Alfredo di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez. Not only that, he is the 4th highest scorer in the history of Copa del Rey, having amassed a total of 55 goals for two clubs.

Trivia: In the year that Quini won his second Pichichi award for being top scorer in La Liga, his club Sporting Gijon were relegated having finished in last place, despite the heroics of the forward.

Quini earned 488 points and hence is 5th on this list of La Liga greats.

#4 Telmo Zarra - Athletic Bilbao

Telmo Zarra
Telmo Zarra

Arguably the greatest player in the history of Athletic Bilbao, Telmo Zarraonandía Montoya, was a goal scorer par excellence. The Spaniard spent 15 seasons with the Basque outfit and netted 251 league goals – a Spanish record which stood for almost 6 years before being broken by Lionel Messi.

However, Zarra has so many records to his name that even Messi will find them difficult to break in his lifetime. He has an almost perfect record for the Spanish national team, having netted 20 goals in 20 appearances.

This is not where his legend ends, or rather it is where it begins. Zarra is the top scorer in Athletic Bilbao’s history, while he has the distinction of being the only player ever to win 6 Pichichi awards for his exploits in La Liga, surpassing Di Stefano, Hugo Sanchez and Quini – who all have 5.

To add to that, the Erandio—born Spaniard, is the top scorer in the history of the Copa del Rey, having scored an incredible 81 goals, while also being the player who has scored most number of goals in a Copa del Rey final, when he netted 4 against Real Valladolid in 1950.

Despite his inhuman goalscoring exploits, he didn’t enjoy the most successful club career, winning a solitary league title in 1943, coupled with 5 other Copa del Rey triumphs.

Zarra almost managed to breach the 500 mark, managing a score of 493, which ensured that he is 4th on this list.

#3 Cesar Rodriguez Alvarez - Barcelona

Cesar Rodriguez Alvarez
Cesar Rodriguez Alvarez (Image Courtesy: Alchetron.com)

A Barcelona legend through and through, César Rodríguez Álvarez, established himself as one of the best goalscorers of his generation. Despite joining Barcelona at the age of 19, it wasn’t until he was 22 that he was able to play for the club, as he was sent to Granada for military service.

In the 13 seasons that he spent at the Camp Nou outfit, he netted 10+ goals on 11 occasions, while also breaching the 20-goal mark thrice. Despite all of his exploits, Cesar won the Pichichi on only one occasion.

Cesar, who was deployed as a forward, netted 232 goals for the club in 351 official games, and helped them win 13 titles, which included 5 La Liga triumphs. The Leon-born striker formed a devastating front line alongside Basora, Eduardo Manchon, Laszlo Kubala and Moreno, as they guided Barcelona to an unprecedented 5 trophies during the 1951-52 season.

With a score of 524, Cesar is 3rd on the list of the greatest ever La Liga players.

#2 Raúl Gonzaléz - Real Madrid

Real Madrid v Valladolid - La Liga
Raul Gonzalez

Raul and records go hand in hand. Often considered one of the cornerstones of Real Madrid’s success in the modern era, the Spaniard is the most capped player in the history of the Santiago Bernabeu, having made 741 appearances for the club.

El Ferrari, as he was famously nicknamed by Fernando Hierro, was the club’s all-time record goalscorer before Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed him. He was also the leading scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League before being transcended by Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

During his 16 seasons with the club, the Madrid-born striker, helped Los Blancos win 6 La Liga titles, 3 UEFA Champions League titles, 4 Supercopa de Espana titles, two Intercontinental Cup and a solitary UEFA Super Cup.

El Ferrari was a lucid goalscorer and won the Pichichi on two occasions while being awarded the Don Balon on 5 occasions. He is also the 5th highest scorer in the history of La Liga – with 228 goals to his name. If I go out to list out all the records that Raul holds, it will take me a considerable amount of time and effort but that is not what we are here for.

For his legendary exploits with Real Madrid, Raul earns a score of 528 and is 2nd on this list.

#1 Lionel Messi - Barcelona

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

One of the banes of living in today’s internet friendly world is that there isn’t much you can write or say about someone like a Lionel Messi or a Cristiano Ronaldo that hasn’t been documented already. Two of the finest of this generation, a rivalry which will go onto define this era, more than a 1000 goals between them along with 9 Ballon d’Or awards and counting.

However, tonight it is the diminutive Argentine who has the last laugh, having been named as the best player in the history of La Liga courtesy of the study conducted by The Centre of Historical and Statistical Investigations of Spanish Football.

Messi has done it all, won it all and then some. The 30-year-old still has a lot left in his tank before he decides to hang those magical boots of his but yet, he is already crowned as the greatest ever to have played in La Liga.

The Argentine is already one of the most decorated club footballers of all time, having won 8 La Liga titles, 4 UEFA Champions League titles, 5 Copa del Rey titles, 6 Supercopa de Espana, 3 UEFA Super Cup and 3 FIFA Club World Cup.

On top of that, he is the top scorer in the history of La Liga, while also being the top scorer in the history of Barcelona. The list of records of the Argentine is endless and he is only going to add to it before the day comes when he decides to call it quits.

La Pulga, as he is commonly known, has four Pichichis to his name and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he overtakes Telmo Zarra to be the all-time record holder.

According to the study conducted by Jose Antonio Ortega Ruiz, Messi’s exploits have helped him earn 545 points and hence, he is the greatest player to have graced La Liga.


Cristiano Ronaldo and Aritz Aduriz are the only other active players to be in the top 100, with the Portuguese finishing at 17th position with 415 points, while Aduriz is 67th with 314 points.

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Edited by Shaurya Vineet