Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo left an irremovable mark on the history of Spanish football during his nine incredible years at Real Madrid, as has FC Barcelona icon Lionel Messi. Here are the 10 leading LaLiga goalscorers of all time, including one of Africa's best strikers ever.
Click through the gallery above to see the 10 highest goalscorers in LaLiga history, as well as their strike rates, according to Transfermarkt.
Ronaldo joined Los Blancos in 2009 after years of dominance in the Premier League with Manchester United, and took his career and game to new heights with the Spanish club.
From his first day in Spain, the Portuguese competed with Barca's Messi for the top scorer awards, and their battle, considered a rivalry by many, also extended to the Ballon d'Or and many other individual awards.
Ronaldo was unable to topple Messi as LaLiga's leading scorer of all time while at Real, though he has left the league with a better strike rate. The Portuguese found the back of the net 311 times in 292 games in the division, which is an average of one goal every 81 minutes.
His counterpart has struck 385 goals in 419 LaLiga matches, which works out to a goal every 87 minutes. Messi, 31, is likely to extend his lead at the top of the leaderboard, considering his intention to stay on at Barca for as long as he can.
Third on the list is Athletic Bilbao legend Telmo Zarra with 251 goals in Spanish top flight history, followed by the great Hugo Sanchez with 234 strikes in 347 appearances.
Real Madrid icon Raul Gonzalez, who played 550 league matches for Los Galacticos, scored 228 times, while the next best goals record is David Villa's 185 strikes in 352 games. The former Barca and Valencia man was lethal in his prime, and currently plays his football in the MLS for New York City FC.
Cameroon legend Samuel Eto'o is seventh in the standings with his 162 goals in 278 matches, while in eighth spot is Ferenc Puskas. The Hungarian found the net on 156 occasions in 180 games in Spain's top league, scoring a goal every 104 minutes.
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Bilbao's Aritz Aduriz, who is the only other player in the top 10 besides Messi still playing in LaLiga, has struck 155 times in 410 matches, while last in the top 10 is Jose Mari Bakero with his record of 139 goals in 484 LaLiga appearances.
Which of these players have given you the best memories in Spain over the years? Let us know in the comments section below.
