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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ByMark Marston 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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
20th Nov 2004
La Liga (H)
W 3-0
10th Apr 2005
La Liga (A)
L 2-4
19th Nov 2005
La Liga (A)
W 3-0
1st Apr 2006
La Liga (H)
D 1-1
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
10th Apr 2010
La Liga (A)
W 2-0
29th Nov 2010
La Liga (H)
W 5-0
3rd May 2011
Champions League (H)
D 1-1
25th Jan 2012
Copa del Rey (H)
D 2-2
23rd Aug 2012
Spanish Super Cup (H)
W 3-2
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
16th Mar 2002
La Liga (H)
D 1-1
25th Apr 2004
La Liga (A)
W 2-1
29th Nov 2010
La Liga (H)
W 5-0
10th Dec 2011
La Liga (A)
W 3-1
23rd Aug 2012
Spanish Super Cup (H)
W 3-2
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
10th Mar 2007
La Liga (A)
D 3-3
2nd May 2009
La Liga (H)
L 2-6
2nd Mar 2013
La Liga (H)
W 2-1
3rd Dec 2016
La Liga (A)
D 1-1
24th Oct 2020
La Liga (A)
W 3-1
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
3rd Mar 2001
La Liga (H)
D 2-2
1st May 2002
Champions League (H)
D 1-1
10th Apr 2005
La Liga (H)
W 4-2
22nd Oct 2006
La Liga (H)
W 2-0
7th May 2008
La Liga (H)
W 4-1
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
1st Mar 2020
La Liga (H)
W 2-0
12th Jan 2022
Spanish Super Cup (N)
W 3-2
5th Apr 2023
Copa del Rey (A)
W 4-0
14th Jan 2024
Spanish Super Cup (N)
W 4-1
21st Apr 2024
La Liga (H)
W 3-2
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
22nd Mar 2015
La Liga (H)
W 2-1
21st Nov 2015
La Liga (A)
W 4-0
3rd Dec 2016
La Liga (H)
D 1-1
23rd Dec 2017
La Liga (A)
W 0-3
6th May 2018
La Liga (H)
D 2-2
28th Oct 2018
La Liga (H)
W 5-1
27th Feb 2019
Copa del Rey (A)
W 3-0
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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
17th Aug 2011
Spanish Super Cup (A)
L 2-3
10th Dec 2011
La Liga (H)
L 1-3
25th Jan 2012
Copa del Rey (A)
D 2-2
2nd Mar 2013
La Liga (H)
W 2-1
23rd Mar 2014
La Liga (H)
L 3-4
25th Oct 2014
La Liga (H)
W 3-1
2nd Apr 2016
La Liga (A)
W 2-1
16th Aug 2017
Spanish Super Cup (H)
W 2-0
10th Apr 2021
La Liga (H)
W 2-1
12th Jan 2022
Spanish Super Cup (N)
W 3-2
16th Oct 2022
La Liga (H)
W 3-1
15th Jan 2023
Spanish Super Cup (N)
L 1-3
5th Apr 2023
Copa del Rey (A)
W 4-0
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1 ByBarney Lane 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.
Goal(s)
Date
Competition
Result
16th Apr 2011
La Liga (H)
D 1-1
20th Apr 2011
Copa del Rey (N)
W 1-0
17th Aug 2011
Spanish Super Cup (A)
L 2-3
18th Jan 2012
Copa del Rey (H)
L 1-2
25th Jan 2012
Copa del Rey (A)
D 2-2
21st Apr 2012
La Liga (A)
W 2-1
23rd Aug 2012
Spanish Super Cup (A)
L 2-3
29th Aug 2012
Spanish Super Cup (H)
W 2-1
7th Oct 2012
La Liga (A)
D 2-2
26th Feb 2013
Copa del Rey (A)
W 3-1
23rd Mar 2014
La Liga (H)
L 3-4
25th Oct 2014
La Liga (H)
W 3-1
22nd Mar 2015
La Liga (A)
L 1-2
2nd Apr 2016
La Liga (A)
W 2-1
13th Aug 2017
Spanish Super Cup (A)
W 3-1
6th May 2018
La Liga (A)
D 2-2