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Last season, La Liga produced a combined tally of 953 goals scored in the league, led by a certain Lionel Messi, with 30 of this total coming from the talismanic forward.
This impressive total only puts the Spanish top-flight, fourth among the top five European leagues in purely goal-scoring terms. Only the German Bundesliga witnessed a lower inflow of goals.
Nevertheless, this fact is more of a testament to the defensive pedigree of the league since La Liga contains some of the finest attackers of our generation, even after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Italy.
La Liga attackers and the European Golden Shoe
With Ronaldo ending his nine-year stay in Madrid through a €117m-move to Juventus, the task of maintaining La Liga's dominance at the Golden Boot ceremony fell solely on Lionel Messi.
The dynamic duo have been responsible for winning 10 of the last 13 editions of the prestigious award, with the mercurial Portuguese winning his first of four golden boots at Manchester United.
Consequently, La Liga attackers were at the helm of this continental supremacy for more than a decade, with Ciro Immobile becoming the first forward in 11 years, to win the coveted title in 2020, whilst playing for a non-Spanish team.
Diego Forlan (1x) and Luis Suarez (2x) are the only other players to have outscored the two 'goats' during this period, in the 08/09 and 15/16 seasons to be precise. Interestingly, the Uruguayan attacker shared the spoils with Ronaldo during the 13/14 season.
With Messi technically a free agent at the time of writing, doubts regarding La Liga's remaining offensive talents are bound to pop up. However, the Spanish top-tier boasts an elite roster of attackers, even after excluding the Argentine magician.
Here, we take a look at 5 of the best forwards currently contracted to a club in Spain:
#5 Memphis Depay (FC Barcelona)
Memphis Depay has yet to play an official match for his new team, Barcelona. Even so, he already possesses the skills to qualify himself as one of the best attackers in La Liga.
The Dutch forward is fresh off a prolific season with Lyon which saw him produce a whopping 32 goal contributions, comprising 20 goals and 12 assists in Ligue 1.
This impressive tally would rank him fourth in La Liga's top goal scorers last season, while only Lionel Messi finished with better overall statistics on an individual basis than Depay.
The 27-year-old attacker will be hoping to play alongside the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, come next season. Adept at playing as a striker as well as on the wings, Depay was reborn as a player in France after two turbulent seasons in Manchester.
Now at the peak of his physical and technical prowess, Depay rejected Lyon's offer to extend his contract and chose to upgrade his surroundings by joining Barcelona on a free transfer. His current deal would keep him at the club until 2023.
The Dutchman has been placed in such a low position for the sole reason that he is yet to make his La Liga debut.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona)
If such a list had been drafted before his poorly-constructed transfer to Barcelona, Antonie Griezmann would easily have snuck into the top 3. However, due to some mediocre displays over the past two seasons, especially taking his ridiculously high standards as well as the colossal €120m price-tag into account, Griezmann could only muster a generous fourth place inclusion here.
The 30-year-old French attacker had somewhat of a renaissance period with the Blaugrana last season, grabbing 21 goal involvements in a troubled first year under the stewardship of Ronald Koeman.
He particularly improved his relationship with teammate Lionel Messi, both on-and-off the field, en route to his best La Liga season in a Barca shirt.
With the incomings of Sergio Aguero and the aforementioned Depay, Griezmann may see a significant reduction in his playing time next season. However, among multiple rumors linking the La Liga attacker to a move away from the Camp Nou, reports have surfaced, suggesting that Griezmann's work ethic has impressed the current Barcelona boss.
If his 2021-form has anything to say, keeping the World Cup winner on their books might just turn out to be tactically beneficial for the Spanish giants, if not financially.
Also read: Ranking the 5 successful La Liga clubs with most incoming transfers in the last decade
#3 Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)
A surprise entry on the list, Gerard Moreno announced himself as one of the best attackers in La Liga quite recently. Moreno's rise to prominence has been steady but not at all easy.
Having spent his initial years with Villarreal, the Spaniard was allowed to join Espanyol permanently for a nominal fee of €1.5m, aged 23. It's not a move you'd expect from a special talent.
After a slow start to life in Barcelona, Moreno started picking up pace exponentially, and his goal tallies in the subsequent years started reflecting his growth in La Liga. Seven in his first year, then 13, and a 16-goal haul in his final season with Espanyol prompted the Yellow Submarine to bring back their former attacker.
Fast forward three years and Moreno has already become their all-time top scorer with 82 goals in 185 appearances. His splendid 20/21 season, which saw him bag 23 goals and seve assists in La Liga, earned him a call-up to represent his national side at Euro 2020.
The Spanish attacker's additional seven goals on the continental stage helped Villarreal romp to their maiden Europa League title, dispatching European giants such as Arsenal and Manchester United along the way.
At 29, he may be a late bloomer, but Gerard Moreno has definitely established himself as one of the best attackers in La Liga.
#2 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
The 21/22 season will be Karim Benzema's 13th campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu. The French attacker has silently built up his reputation, working hard to earn his place among football's best, despite receiving constant criticism from pundits. Benzema truly established himself as an elite forward after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Having consistently provided for his team during Ronaldo's tenure at Madrid, Benzema was seldom granted the recognition his game deserved. However, in Los Blancos' most turbulent period of recent times, it was the Frenchman's offensive output that kept their heads above water.
At 33 years of age, Benzema finished as his side's top scorer, yet again, with a tally of 30 goals in all competitions.
The enigmatic attacker is the fifth best goal-scorer in Real Madrid's history, with a total of 273 strikes in 547 appearances. A more than commendable amount for someone who has played second fiddle to his team's primary talisman for almost his entire career.
#1 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid)
Ousted by Barcelona on the pretext of being too old and on undeservedly high wages, Luis Suarez came back to haunt his former side by firing Atletico Madrid to their 11th La Liga title. Suarez scored an inspiring 21 goals, spearheading his team's attack, all the while mentoring a young Joao Felix.
Signed up for a paltry €7m, Suarez's 20/21 numbers would have ranked him above everyone in the Barcelona squad, except Lionel Messi, obviously. A shrewd transfer on Diego Simeone's behalf, the Argentine took full advantage of Josep Bartomeu's short-sightedness and built a formidable team around the attacker. Barca could only manage a third-place finish in La Liga, their worst in 13 years.
Suarez has been sensational ever since he set foot in Spain. After a Golden Boot-winning season with Liverpool, the inventive attacker arrived at the Camp Nou for a record-shattering fee of €81.72m.
In his six years of service, Suarez went on to score 195 times and provide a further 113 assists in just 283 appearances, putting him in third place in Barcelona's all-time scoring charts. At the ripe old age of 34, the Uruguayan veteran is easily La Liga's best attacker in the absence of his former teammate, Lionel Messi.
Also read: Top 5 goals scored by Barcelona's Lionel Messi in finals
