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Over the years, La Liga has consistently possessed some of the world's finest goal-scorers. There has been no shortage of goals despite the competitiveness of the league.
With the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona constantly luring top players, Spain's top-tier football has witnessed loads of goals time and again. It's not just these two European giants but other Spanish clubs too that have possessed some fine goal-scorers.
Consistently scoring in La Liga is not an easy job
Getting to play in La Liga has been a dream come true for many footballers. Given the league's popularity, it takes little time to achieve fame with the right kind of performance.
Some of the best players have consistently been among the goals whilst playing in the Spanish league.
Here, we take a look at the top players to have the best goals per game ratio this century in La Liga.
Note: A minimum criteria of 50 matches is considered. All stats are as per Transfermarkt
#5 Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Nazario is one of the few players who has had the opportunity to play for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. Widely considered one of the best players of his time, the Brazilian had a memorable time in Spain.
He played for Barcelona for the 1996-97 season and won the Pichichi trophy, having scored 34 goals in 38 appearances that campaign. Ronaldo Nazario left the following summer to play for Inter Milan. He played in Serie A for five seasons before joining Real Madrid in the 2002-03 season.
Having played for Los Blancos for five seasons, the Brazilian forward won the league once. He won the Pichichi award with Madrid in the 2003-04 season, scoring 24 goals in 32 appearances. Ronaldo Nazario has scored 116 goals in 164 La Liga matches, with a ratio of 0.65 goals per game.
#4 Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao has been one of the finest strikers of his generation. Using his wonderful positioning and clinical finishing, the Colombian has built a reputation for being lethal in front of goal.
After impressive spells with River Plate and FC Porto, Falcao earned a move to Atletico Madrid in the 2011-12 season. He was an instant hit as he scored 24 goals in his first season and 28 the following campaign.
He left the Spanish club to join AS Monaco in the 2013-14 season but is currently back in Spain, playing for Rayo Vallecano.
So far, Falcao has scored 57 goals in 85 La Liga appearances so far, averaging 0.67 goals per game.
#3 Luis Suarez
It was only unfortunate how Luis Suarez failed to win a Premier League title during his time at Liverpool. Nevertheless, due to his stunning performances, he was able to earn a move to Barcelona in the 2014-15 season.
Suarez hardly took any time to settle with the Catalan club as he was among the goals instantly. He won the historic treble with Barcelona in his debut season and went on to win the league four times with the Spanish giants.
In a surprising move, Suarez was allowed to join rivals Atletico Madrid before the 2020-21 season. The Uruguayan striker won the league in his very first season with the Rojiblancos and is doing pretty well with them right now.
Suarez has so far scored 176 goals in 253 La Liga appearances, averaging 0.7 goals per game.
#2 Lionel Messi
Not many players have ruled the league as dominantly and elegantly as Lionel Messi did with Barcelona in La Liga. Coming through the ranks at La Masia, the Argentine went on to become a superstar with the Catalan club.
Messi holds the record for most goals in La Liga (474) and has scored the most number of hat-tricks (36) in the league. He won the league ten times in his Barcelona career and made it an entertaining watch for the fans.
His 474 goals have come in 520 league appearances, with a goal-per-game ratio of 0.91. It was a stunning effort given the number of matches played and the competition faced over the years. It only makes it even sadder how Messi left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
After making a big name for himself with Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in the 2009-10 season. The Portuguese took the league by storm with goals coming from left, right and center.
Cristiano won the Pichichi trophy thrice in his La Liga career out of the nine seasons that he was at Real Madrid. He won the league twice and it was during his time with Los Blancos that he won four Ballon d'Or trophies in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
The Portuguese captain has scored 311 goals in 292 La Liga appearances in his entire club career. With an average of 1.07 goals per game, no player has been more effective than Cristiano Ronaldo was in La Liga.
