The top 10 goalscorers since 2000

Real Madrid welcome Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday for the first El Clasico clash of the season, and there’s already all to play for in the La Liga title race.

Barcelona have enjoyed a terrific start to the campaign, winning 9 of their 10 top-flight matches as they sit top of the table.

Most impressively, the Catalan giants have been finding the net for fun – scoring 33 goals already, 12 of which have come courtesy of veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, who is rolling back the years with his scoring streak.

Madrid, meanwhile, haven’t been quite as prolific in front of goal, scoring 21, but are still winning games. They trail free-scoring Barca by just three points going into the weekend, meaning a home win will be enough to see them go top via their head-to-head record.

Ahead of the game, we’ve delved into the archives to find the top 10 El Clasico goalscorers of the 21st century. No prizes for guessing who dominates, but plenty of global superstars have had their say in this fixture over the last 25 years…

10

Ronaldinho

5 goals

During the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons, Ronaldinho was a thorn in Real Madrid’s side.

In four games for Barcelona against Los Blancos, the silky Brazilian superstar scored five goals, including two in a 3-0 win in November 2005 – a game which is best remembered for being Lionel Messi’s El Clasico debut.

Messi, 18 at the time, got the assist for Samuel Eto’o’s opener on the day.

9

Pedro

5 goals

Many forget just how good Pedro was for Barcelona (and indeed for Chelsea later down the line).

A graduate of the club’s famous La Masia academy, the Spanish winger made 321 appearances for Barca between 2007 and 2016, scoring 99 goals.

Five of those goals came in 21 games against Real Madrid, including during their Champions League semi-final in 2011.

8

Xavi

5 goals

Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi always stepped up to the mark when Barcelona played Real Madrid.

In 42 matches against Los Merengues, La Computadora, as he was known, scored five goals and registered a further 10 assists.

The most important of those five strikes came way back in April 2004 when Xavi hit a late winner by lobbing Madrid keeper Iker Casillas with a superb acrobatic volley in a 2-1 victory for Barca at the Bernabeu.

7

Sergio Ramos

5 goals

Despite being a central defender, Sergio Ramos was well-known for his ability to score goals for Real Madrid.

To date, the former Los Blancos captain has scored 140 career goals, making him one of the highest-scoring defenders the game has ever seen. Barcelona were one of his most frequent victims.

In 49 games against the Blaugrana for Madrid between 2005 and 2021, he scored five goals, including a memorable late winner in a 2-1 win for his side in March 2013.

6

Raul

6 goals

Spanish striker Raul scored 15 goals against Barcelona during his 16-year career at Real Madrid, but just six of those came since the millennium.

Arguably the best of those goals came in May 2002. Facing off against Barca in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final tie, Raul thumped the ball into the top corner from outside the penalty area just before half-time, sending the crowd at the Bernabeu into hysterics.

The final score on the night finished 1-1, but with Madrid having won the first leg 2-0, the draw was enough to see them into the final, where they went on to beat Bayer Leverkusen.

5

Vinicius Junior

7 goals

Barcelona must be sick of the sight of Vinicius Junior. In just 17 games against the Catalans, the Madrid winger has scored seven goals, three of which came in last season’s Spanish Super Cup, a game which Madrid won 4-1.

He’ll have the chance to add to that total this weekend, and given that he’s already hit 8 goals in 14 games this term, don’t be surprised if he does.

4

Luis Suarez

11 goals

Luis Suarez spent six seasons with Barcelona between 2014 and 2020, scoring 195 goals in 283 games.

During his spell in Catalonia, the Uruguayan particularly enjoyed scoring against Real Madrid, finding the net 11 times in just 15 games, averaging a strike every 120 minutes against Los Blancos.

Madrid thought they were done with Suarez after he was let go by Barcelona in August 2020. However, just a month later, he joined their city rivals Atletico, where he would again find the net against them in March 2021 as Diego Simeone’s side stormed to the title.

3

Karim Benzema

16 goals

2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema scored 16 goals against Barcelona during his 14-season spell in the Spanish capital.

Eight of those goals came in La Liga, four came in the Copa Del Rey, and four in the Spanish Super Cup.

The French striker was never able to find the net against Barca in the Champions League, drawing a blank in each of the three games he faced off against them in Europe – all of which came during his time at Lyon.

2

Cristiano Ronaldo

18 goals

Following his then-record £80 million move to Real Madrid in 2009, it took Cristiano Ronaldo a while to get going in El Clasico.

He was unable to find the net in his first three games against Barcelona, with Madrid coming out on the losing end every time.

However, when the Portuguese star did get going, there wasn’t much anyone could do to stop him. Between April 2011 and August 2017, he scored 18 goals against Barca, four of which were winning goals, including an extra-time strike in the final of the 2011 Copa del Rey.

1

Lionel Messi

26 goals

Messi and Ronaldo were always going to top this list – and it’s the Argentinian who comes out on top in this particular battle.

Lionel Messi scored no less than 26 times against Real Madrid during his time in Catalonia, making him not only the top El Clasico scorer of this century, but also of all time.

His strike against Los Blancos in the 2011 Champions League semi-finals, which saw him pick up the ball on the halfway line and dribble past several Madrid players before dinking the ball over Iker Casillas, is widely regarded as one of the best of his career.