The Real Madrid soccer club was established on March 6, 1902, originally under the name Madrid Football Club. They first debuted with a white home jersey, and that color scheme has stuck ever since. The club was given the name "Real," which means "royal" in Spanish, by King Alfonso XIII in 1920.
Real Madrid became an unstoppable power in Spanish and European soccer during the '50s when they won five consecutive European Cups and advanced to the final seven times. They have taken home a total of 68 trophies, including a record-breaking 35 La Liga titles, 19 Copa del Rey trophies, 12 Supercopa de España trophies, a Copa Eva Duarte trophy, and a Copa de la Liga trophy.
They have an incredible 28 trophies from European and international tournaments under their belt, including a record 14 European Cup/UEFA Champions League championships, two UEFA Cups, and five UEFA Super Cups. Along with it, they set a new record with seven club world championships in international football. Take a look at the best 20 Real Madrid scorers of all time, as of August 13, 2022.
20. Fernando Morientes – 100 goals
Morientes' successes for Real Zaragoza caught the attention of Real Madrid in 1997, and they bought him for approximately $8 million. He was brought in as an alternative to Predrag Mijatovic and Davor Suker, but he ended up being one of the club’s most prolific scorers ever.
In his eight-year stay, he managed 272 total appearances for the Whites, and score 100 goals in all competitions. He is currently tied with Sergio Ramos. The Spanish striker retired in 2015, with Santa Ana being his final club.
19. Sergio Ramos – 101 goals
Real Madrid snatched Sergio Ramos from Sevilla for $31 million in the summer of 2005, a record for a Spanish defender. He was the first and only Spanish player brought in by Florentino Perez.
The 34-year-old defender went on to become one of the club’s modern legends and top goalscorer with 101 goals in 670 total games. The defender went on to join Paris Saint-Germain in July 2021 as a free agent after failing to agree a contract extension with the Whites.
19. Ivan Zamorano – 101 goals
Zamorano made his debut with Sevilla in La Liga, before being sold for $5 million to Real Madrid. With Real Madrid, Zamorano won one championship, one Copa del Rey, and one Spanish Supercup title between 1992 and 1996.
During his four-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Argentine scored a total of 101 goals in 173 games across all competitions. He retired in 2003, after spending the season at Colo-Colo.
17. Juanito – 101 goals
Juanito impressed highly at Burgos from 1973 to 1977. In summer 1977, Real Madrid noticed him and opted to sign the player. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he became a leading member of the popular Madrid side.
The forward featured in 341 games for Real Madrid, scoring 101 goals. He retired in 1991, but died just one year later, at the age of 37.
16. Ronaldo Nazario – 104 goals
Ronaldo left Inter to sign for Real Madrid in a deal worth a reported sum of $54 million. The Brazilian was part of the Galacticos age of global stars signed by the club, including Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, and David Beckham.
The striker made 177 total appearances in the Madrid jersey and scored 104 total goals. He announced his retirement from soccer in 2011, after spending the two previous seasons at Corinthians.
15. Gareth Bale – 106 goals
Real Madrid announced on September 1, 2013, that they had an agreement for the transfer of Bale, after agreeing a six-year deal for a then-world-record deal of around $107- $120 million. The Welshman was a vital asset for the Bernabeu in his first years there.
Bale played 256 games for the Whites, marking 106 goals in all competitions. After his contract at Santiago Bernabeu ran out in summer 2022, he left to join MLS side LAFC.
14. Pahiño – 111 goals
Pahiño started his professional career at Celta in 1943. Five years later, he signed for Real Madrid. There, he continued to shine until the moment of Alfredo Di Stefano’s arrival in 1953.
The Vigo-born former midfielder played 128 games for Madrid and scored 111 goals in total. He died on June 12, 2012, aged 89.
13. Michel – 121 goals
Michel joined Madrid’s youth academy in 1976, at the age of 13. He was part of the youth squads for six years, before finally being introduced to the first team in 1982.
The former midfielder stayed at Madrid for 14 years, until 1996. During all those years, he netted 121 goals in 509 games across all competitions. Michel hung up his boots in 1997.
12. Gonzalo Higuain – 121 goals
Real Madrid signed Higuain in December 2006 for $14 million from River Plate. He left an immediate mark as he won several domestic honors, as well as three La Liga titles, before his exit in 2013 to Napoli.
From 2006 to 2013, Higuain scored 121 goals in 264 matches in all competitions, equalling Michel’s record of 121 goals. The Argentine is currently featuring for Inter Miami in the MLS.
11. Fernando Hierro – 124 goals
Hierro made his La Liga debut with Real Valladolid in 1987. In the summer of 1989, he was acquired by Real Madrid after two good seasons at Valladolid. He won five La Liga and three Champions League titles over 14 years with Madrid.
Throughout his stay, Hierro featured in 587 matches and scored 124 goals while wearing the Whites’ jersey. He retired in 2005, after spending the season at Bolton Wanderers.
10. Emilio Butragueño – 171 goals
Butragueño is a product of the Real Madrid youth academy. He joined the academy in 1981, but it was three years later that he was promoted to the first team.
In 425 games, the Spanish striker scored 154 goals in his 11-year stay from 1984 to 1995. He announced his retirement in 1998, after spending his final seasons at Celaya.
9. Pirri – 172 goals
Pirri began his soccer adventure at Granada in 1963. It took only one season for Real Madrid to notice him and sign him in 1964. There, the former Spanish midfielder won ten national championships, netting in double digits, including a career-best 13 goals from 1975 to 1976.
He made 392 total appearances for Real Madrid and netted 118 total times. Pirri retired in 1982, as a sweeper, despite playing as a central midfielder in his early days.
8. Francisco 'Paco' Gento – 182 goals
In the 1952-53 season, Gento debuted in the Primera Division (La Liga) with Racing Santander. He signed for Real Madrid the following year and became the club's iconic player, wearing the number 11 jersey.
The outside-left (winger) player can boast of scoring 134 goals in 435 games for Real Madrid from the period of 1953 to 1971. He retired in 1971.
7. Hugo Sanchez – 208 goals
Hugo Sanchez made his name in Mexico while featuring for Pumas UNAM, from 1976 to 1981. That summer, he was shipped off to Atletico Madrid, where he stayed for four years. In addition, in 1985, Sanchez moved to their arch city rivals, Real Madrid.
The Mexican forward scored 190 goals in 252 games for Los Blancos until 1992. He hung up his boots five years later, in 1997, with Atletico Celaya being his final club.
6. Ferenc Puskas – 242 goals
Puscas played for Budapest Honved for 13 years. However, after the Hungarian Revolution occurred in Budapest in 1956, he refused to return to his homeland. Two years later, he joined Real Madrid at the age of 31.
Despite his age, he managed to feature in 223 total games and score 195 times for Madrid. The Hungarian forward retired in 1966 with Los Blancos. He died on November 17, 2006, aged 79.
5. Santillana – 290 goals
Santillana started his soccer career at Racing Santander in 1970, but it only took a season for Real Madrid to snatch him at just 19. In addition to four Copa del Rey trophies and back-to-back UEFA Cups, Santillana won nine league trophies with Los Blancos.
He can boast of playing in 551 games and scoring 236 goals for Real Madrid from 1971 to 1988. The former striker retired from professional soccer in 1988, after featuring in only 12 league games during the season.
4. Alfredo Di Stefano – 308 goals
Alfredo Di Stefano began his soccer path at River Plate in Argentina in 1945. After he managed to make his name in his homeland and Colombia for Milionarios, it was announced that he would be joining La Liga side Real Madrid in 1953.
The Argentine forward went on to make 344 total appearances for the Whites, netting in 266 occasions until 1964. Two years later, Di Stefano retired after spending the previous seasons at Espanyol. He died on July 7, 2014, aged 88.
3. Raul – 323 goals
Despite featuring for both Madrid youth clubs, it was Real who introduced Raul to first-team soccer in 1994. Raul spent 16 years at the Santiago Bernabeu, filled with all sorts of collective and individual accolades and trophies.
Raul managed to mark his name on the scoresheet 324 times in 741 matches for Real Madrid in all competitions during his 16-year stay. He retired in 2015, after spending the season with New York Cosmos.
2. Karim Benzema – 324 goals
Karim Benzema left Lyon to join Real Madrid in 2009. He is currently going into his 14th season at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Frenchman didn’t always have it easy at Madrid, but he exploded after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure for Juventus in the summer of 2018.
Benzema has played in 606 games in all competitions so far and scored 324 goals. He is the lone active player from Madrid’s current squad in the top 20 list.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 451 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo made his name after leaving Sporting Lisbon from his homeland to play for Manchester United. Having won the Ballon d’Or the year before, Real Madrid lured him in 2009 for a record fee of $110 million.
In his nine-year stay at the Bernabeu, CR7 netted incredible and unreachable 450 goals in 438 total games across all competitions. The 37-year-old Portuguese forward is playing for his old side, Manchester United in the Premier League at the moment.
