La Liga Golden Boot Winners (1928 – 2022)

Spain’s top soccer league is revered by many because of the high level of talent that has graced the competition in years gone by.

Players within this division have gained a reputation for being hard tacklers, and teams are known for adopting a physically intense style of play that is not so pleasing on the eye.

This sort of tells you that the conditions for scoring a healthy amount of goals within this league are not so optimal.

But the aforementioned “obstacles” haven’t stood in the way of a number of different players throughout the last few decades.

And that’s because La Liga has been a league where certain individuals have racked up goal tallies that some of the all-time soccer greats would be jealous of!

Today’s article will look at the La Liga’s very own Golden Boot winners all the way from the 1928 campaign up to 2021.

So, get to see which players hit the back of the net the most times over the course of a season during this period:

SeasonPlayerTeam(s)Goals Scored
1928/1929Paco BienzobasReal Sociedad17
1929/1930Guillermo GorostizaAthletic Bilbao20
1930/1931BataAthletic Bilbao27
1931/1932BataAthletic Bilbao13
1932/1933Manuel OlivaresReal Madrid16
1933/1934Isidro LángaraReal Oviedo26
1934/1935Isidro LángaraReal Oviedo27
1935/1936Isidro LángaraReal Oviedo28
1939/1940Victor UnamunoAthletic Bilbao20
1940/1941PrudenAtletico Madrid33
1941/1942Edmundo Suárez de TrabancoValencia CF27
1942/1943Mariano Martín AlonsoFC Barcelona30
1943/1944Edmundo Suárez de TrabancoValencia CF28
1944/1945Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao20
1945/1946Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao24
1946/1947Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao33
1947/1948PahiñoCelta de Vigo20
1947/1948Francisco PeraltaGimnàstic de Tarragona20
1948/1949César Rodríguez ÁlvarezFC Barcelona28
1949/1950Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao24
1950/1951Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao38
1951/1952PahiñoReal Madrid28
1952/1953Telmo ZarraAthletic Bilbao24
1953/1954Alfrédo di StefanoReal Madrid27
1954/1955Juan ArzaSevilla FC29
1955/1956Alfrédo di StefanoReal Madrid24
1955/1956Mauro RodriguezCelta de Vigo24
1956/1957Alfrédo di StefanoReal Madrid31
1957/1958Alfrédo di StefanoReal Madrid19
1957/1958Ricardo AlósValencia CF19
1957/1958Manuel BadenesReal Valladolid19
1958/1959Alfrédo di StefanoReal Madrid23
1959/1960Ferenc PuskasReal Madrid25
1960/1961Ferenc PuskasReal Madrid28
1961/1962Juan SeminarioReal Zaragoza25
1962/1963Ferenc PuskasReal Madrid26
1963/1964Ferenc PuskasReal Madrid21
1964/1965Cayetano RéFC Barcelona26
1965/1966Luis AragonésAtletico Madrid19
1965/1966Luciano SánchezElche CF19
1966/1967WaldoValencia CF24
1967/1968Fidel UriarteAthletic Bilbao22
1968/1969Amaro AmancioReal Madrid14
1968/1969José GárateAtletico Madrid14
1969/1970Luis AragonésAtletico Madrid16
1969/1970Amaro AmancioReal Madrid16
1969/1970José GárateAtletico Madrid16
1970/1971Carles RexachFC Barcelona17
1970/1971José GárateAtletico Madrid17
1971/1972Enrique PortaGranada CF20
1972/1973MarianinReal Oviedo19
1973/1974QuiniSporting Gijón20
1974/1975Carlos RuizAthletic Bilbao19
1975/1976QuiniSporting Gijón21
1976/1977Mario KempesValencia CF24
1977/1978Mario KempesValencia CF28
1978/1979Hans KranklFC Barcelona29
1979/1980QuiniSporting Gijón24
1980/1981QuiniFC Barcelona20
1981/1982QuiniFC Barcelona27
1982/1983Hipólito RincónReal Betis20
1983/1984JuanitoReal Madrid17
1983/1984Jorge Da SilvaReal Valladolid17
1984/1985Hugo SánchezAtletico Madrid19
1985/1986Hugo SánchezReal Madrid22
1986/1987Hugo SánchezReal Madrid34
1987/1988Hugo SánchezReal Madrid29
1988/1989BaltazarAtletico Madrid35
1989/1990Hugo SánchezReal Madrid38
1990/1991Emilio ButragueñoReal Madrid19
1991/1992ManoloAtletico Madrid27
1992/1993BebetoDeportivo La Coruña29
1993/1994RomárioFC Barcelona30
1994/1995Ivan ZamoranoReal Madrid28
1995/1996Juan Antonio PizziCD Tenerife31
1996/1997RonaldoFC Barcelona34
1997/1998Christian VieriAtletico Madrid24
1998/1999RaúlReal Madrid25
1999/2000Salva BallestaRacing Santander27
2000/2001RaúlReal Madrid24
2001/2002Diego TristánDeportivo La Coruña20
2002/2003Roy MakaayDeportivo La Coruña29
2003/2004RonaldoReal Madrid24
2004/2005Diego ForlánVillareal CF25
2005/2006Samuel Eto’oFC Barcelona27
2006/2007Ruud van NistelrooyReal Madrid25
2007/2008Dani GüizaRCD Mallorca27
2008/2009Diego ForlánAtletico Madrid27
2009/2010Lionel MessiFC Barcelona34
2010/2011Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid41
2011/2012Lionel MessiFC Barcelona50
2012/2013Lionel MessiFC Barcelona46
2013/2014Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid31
2014/2015Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid48
2015/2016Luis SuárezFC Barcelona40
2016/2017Lionel MessiFC Barcelona37
2017/2018Lionel MessiFC Barcelona34
2018/2019Lionel MessiFC Barcelona36
2019/2020Lionel MessiFC Barcelona25
2020/2021Lionel MessiFC Barcelona30
2021/2022Karim BenzemaReal Madrid27

 

Who has the most Golden Boot (Pichichi) awards in La Liga?

You’ll notice right away that there’s an unfamiliar word called “Pichichi” noted between a pair of parentheses in the question above.

That’s because the word has been taken to represent the best performing goal scorer within La Liga ever since the 1952-1953 season.

Rodrigo “Pichichi” Moreno played for Athletic Bilbao and his nickname was adopted by the Spanish newspaper – Marca – to stand for the competition’s top net buster.

Anywho…

The player with the most Golden Boot awards in La Liga is none other than Lionel Messi, as the Argentinian maestro has notched up a total of eight in his career.

You’ve probably heard of Messi even if you don’t follow the sport religiously.

8 time la liga golden boot winner - lionel messi

His talent is beyond words and you’ll hear his name regularly come up in debates concerning the greatest soccer players of all time.

Following behind the Argentinian legend is a now retired player called Telmo Zarra.

6 time la liga golden boot winner - telmo zarra

He spent the vast majority of his career at Athletic Bilbao and managed six top goalscorer awards during his playing days in La Liga.

The table below rounds up the rest of the winners:

PlayerGolden Boot AwardsClub(s)
Lionel Messi8FC Barcelona
Telmo Zarra6Athletic Bilbao
Alfrédo di Stefano5Real Madrid
Quini5Sporting Gijón; FC Barcelona
Hugo Sánchez5Atletico Madrid; Real Madrid
Ferenc Puskas4Real Madrid
José Eulogio Gárate3Atletico Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo3Real Madrid
Isidro Lángara3Real Oviedo
Ronaldo2Real Madrid
Raúl2Real Madrid
Pahiño2Real Madrid; Celta de Vigo
Mundo2Valencia CF
Mario Kempes2Valencia CF
Bata2Athletic Bilbao
Diego Forlán2Atletico Madrid; Villareal CF
Amaro Amancio2Real Madrid

 

How many Golden Boots did Ronaldo win in La Liga?

Cristiano Ronaldo is a generational talent without a shadow of a doubt.

The Portuguese star has broken one record after another within soccer.

And perhaps one of his most impressive goal scoring feats is the fact that he’s become the highest professional goal scorer in FIFA history.

He surpassed the Austrian-Czech legend Josef Bican’s tally of 805 goals by netting his 807th one in a dramatic 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.

But that’s not the information you’re here for!

Ronaldo has been eclipsed by the goal scoring exploits of his professional rival Lionel Messi throughout his time in La Liga.

So, even though he scored so many goals in the competition, he only managed to be the top Golden Boot winner in three league campaigns.

 

Who won the 2021 La Liga Golden Boot?

The season is yet to complete so this question can’t be answered definitively.

Update: The season is now complete so this question can definitely be answered! Karim Benzema was the highest scorer with a tally of 27 goals for the 2021/2022 league campaign.

Ultimately, his competitors languished quite a way behind because Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas – Benzema’s nearest opponent – only ended up with 18 goals to his name.

 

Final thoughts

Hopefully this short article has been an eye-opener for you.

It has comprehensively covered La Liga’s Golden Boot winners all the way back from 1928, and it’ll be regularly updated as the soccer seasons continue to roll along.

You can also have a look at the Premier League Golden Boot winners list if you’ve enjoyed this piece, as that one gives information about the English league’s top goal scorers by season.

 

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Samuel Waihenya
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