El Clásico: The Top 11 Goalscorers Since 2000

Real Madrid and Barcelona often serve up a treat when they meet, with El Clásico watched around the globe by millions.

The era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may be over, but this fixture always promises drama, history and often a bit of spice.

Whether these two iconic rivals are meeting in a cup final or a crunch league clash, there is no love lost between the pair, who have even met in the Champions League on eight occasions, most recently in 2011 when Messi’s Barcelona emerged victorious.

Thankfully, there is more to this fixture than the two foremost attackers from either club, with plenty of star names getting on the scoresheet since the turn of the century.

Since 2000, nearly 100 different players have had the honour of netting in the Clásico, from legends like Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, to more modern stars like Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

But who has grabbed the most goals this century in this fixture? From goalscoring defenders to lethal strikers, here is the list of El Clásico’s highest goalscorers…

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11

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 Clásico debut.

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

10

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.

9

Xavi

5 goals

Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi often 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.

8

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 well over 100 career goals, making him one of the highest-scoring defenders the game has ever seen – and 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.

7

Robert Lewandowski

5 goals

Robert Lewandowski scored a double at the Bernabeu in October 2024 to help make his way onto this list, with his first La Liga goals in El Clásico helping Barcelona to a thumping 4-0 win on their enemy’s patch.

The Pole’s other goals against Real Madrid since signing for Barcelona have been in Spanish Super Cup finals, with his penalty in the 2024/25 clash making it three years in a row of scoring in that competition against Los Blancos.

Now in his mid-thirties, one can only imagine how many he would have racked up had he been playing for Barcelona in his pomp, especially considering his goal record since arriving in 2022.

Lewandowski has been the scourge of Madrid throughout his career, netting in the Champions League against them for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich – even netting four in one game for the former back in 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.

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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 Clásico.

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.