Back in the day, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo took all the limelight in LaLiga. With the Argentine star at Barcelona and the Portuguese striker at Real Madrid, the Spanish league counted on the greatest players and the best rivalry of the century.
Their departures have certainly taken a toll on the tournament, not only in terms of audience or revenue. Without Messi and Ronaldo, the number of goals scored has also decreased.
That can be seen in the race for the Golden Boot, awarded to the player with the most goals scored throughout the season. In the 2023-24, for instance, Girona striker is leading the LaLiga scoring charts with just 19 goals.
With Messi and Ronaldo, LaLiga were used to seeing more goals in the battle for the award given to the top scorer. On average, a player needed to find the net on 37.6 occasions in to win the LaLiga Golden Boot in the Messi-Ronaldo era. Luis Suarez in 2016 was the only player to beat both legends with 40 goals in 35 games.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala 2014
In the first LaLiga season without these stars, Karim Benzema needed only 27 goals to finish atop the scoring table in 2022. The following year, Robert Lewandowski won the award with just 23. Therefore, the number of goals needed to win the LaLiga Golden Boot since Messi and Ronaldo left decreased by nearly 23% by dropping to an average of 25.
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Lionel Messi is getting closer to a big record held by Cristiano Ronaldo
Messi’s numbers in LaLiga
Since making his professional debut in the 2004-05, Messi went on to put up astonishing numbers in LaLiga. With a record 474 goals and 192 assists in 520 appearances, the Argentine star cemented a legacy in the Spanish league. On top of that, Leo celebrated 10 LaLiga titles with Barcelona.
Ronaldo’s numbers in LaLiga
Ronaldo also left an indelible mark in Spain, racking up an impressive 311 goals and 86 assists in 282 games for Real Madrid (where he became the club’s all-time top scorer). In addition, he won the LaLiga title twice (2012 and 2017).
