Barcelona forward Neymar Jr. made his 100th La Liga appearance against Valencia on October 22nd 2016, after joining the Catalan club from Santos in 2013. The Brazilian has enjoyed a fantastic goal-scoring rate ever since he joined, which has only been amplified by the arrival of Luis Suarez to join Lionel Messi in making the famous MSN trio.
Neymar racked up 24 goals and 18 assists in La Liga in the 2015/16 season and is well on his way to replicate that form, having scored 4 goals and 4 assists for Barcelona in 6 La Liga games of the 2016/17 season so far.
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Here’s how Neymar compares to other Real Madrid and Barcelona striking legends who have racked up 100 games for the club, and those in line to play 100 games soon.
#10 Samuel Eto’o – RCD Mallorca – 35 goals in first 100 games
The Cameroonian forward’s low scoring rate in his first 100 games in La Liga can be explained away by the fact that all 35 of those goals came for Mallorca. Eto’o left Real Madrid for Los Bermellones in the summer of 2000 and proceeded to score 48 times in 120 games for Mallorca.
However, once Eto’o joined Barcelona, he started scoring at a much faster rate, racking up 108 goals in 145 games, a rate of 0.75 goals per game for Barcelona, much better than the 0.35 goals per game he achieved in his first 100 La Liga games. Real Betis suffered the most from the Cameroonian's boot, as he scored 14 times against them, and 11 times against Real Madrid.
#9 Raul – Real Madrid – 44 goals in first 100 games
Real Madrid legend Raul’s low rank in this list is perhaps explained away by the fact that he made his debut at the tender age of 17 and not at his peak. Yet, a return of 9 goals in his first 28 games for Los Blancos in his first season (1994/95) at the club is very, very respectable.
The Spaniard finished his Real Madrid career with a staggering 228 goals in 550 games, at a rate of 0.41 goals per game, surprisingly lower than 0.44 gpg in his first 100 games for Madrid. However, Raul’s brilliance lay in that he scored against everyone, with Real Valladolid, Valencia and RDC Espanyol all feeling his strike power 17 times, while Barcelona conceded 15 times against the Madrid fan-favourite.
#8 Karim Benzema – Real Madrid – 45 goals in first 100 games
The Frenchman joined Real Madrid from Lyon in 2009, and despite being an altruistic striker who tends to set up goals, Karim Benzema has a rate of 0.45 gpg in his first 100 games for Los Blancos. So far, Benzema has scored 114 goals in 221 games for Real Madrid in La Liga, a rate of 0.52 games per goal, which points to an improvement in the last few seasons.
Benzema scored only 8 goals in 27 games for Real Madrid in his first season, which makes his 37 goals in the next 73 games much more impressive. Granada are Benzema’s favourite opponents with the Frenchman scoring 9 times against them, but he has also scored 8 times against hated rivals Barcelona.
#7 David Villa – Real Zaragoza and Valencia – 48 goals in first 100 games
The Spanish forward was already a La Liga legend by the time he joined Barcelona in 2010, having scored 139 times in the Spanish top-flight for Real Zaragoza and Valencia before he joined the Catalans. Villa made his La Liga debut in 2003 for Zaragoza and went on to score 17 goals in his first season, a preview of his success.
Netting goals at a rate of 0.48 goals per game, David Villa is one of the most prolific goal-scorers to have ever played in La Liga. The diminutive forward’s favourite opponents are Sevilla, who have conceded 16 times against Villa, while he has also scored 9 times against Valencia.
#6 Lionel Messi – Barcelona – 48 goals in first 100 games
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Lionel Messi ranked #6 in this list, but it makes sense when you take into account that the Argentine made his debut as a 17-yr-old winger in 2004, finishing his first season with just 77 minutes under his belt in 9 appearances as a substitute, scoring his first goal against Albacete in May, 2005.
Messi has scored 271 goals in his subsequent 255 games for the club, at a rate of 1.06 goals per game, which is more than twice his rate of 0.48 gpg in his first 100 games. Sevilla are Lionel Messi’s favourite opponents, who have conceded 26 times to the Argentine wizard, while Real Madrid have been at the wrong end of Messi’s goal-scoring magic 21 times.
#5 Gareth Bale – Real Madrid – 50 goals in first 89 games
Real Madrid paid a world record fee for Gareth Bale, and the Welsh maestro has gone some way in repaying that amount. Bale has a very favourable record of scoring despite playing on the wings for a side tailored to suit Cristiano Ronaldo’s style of play. Bale however, makes do with an extremely great record of scoring with his head, one of the best in Europe.
Bale has yet to complete 100 games for Real Madrid, but even if he does not score for the next 11 games will still have a better start to his La Liga career than Leo Messi, in terms of goal-scoring. However, the Welshman seems to favour scoring against minnows, with Rayo Vallecano conceding 9 times against Bale, while he’s only scored once against Barcelona.
#4 Neymar Jr. – Barcelona – 59 goals in first 100 games
The Brazilian has been an unequivocal success ever since joining from Santos, repaying the amount Barcelona paid for him and then some. Curiously though, Neymar only scored 9 times in his first 26 games, a rate of 0.35 gpg in his first season. Neymar has scored 50 goals in 74 games since, a rate of 0.68 gpg, almost twice his rate in the first season.
Neymar has a habit of scoring against the big La Liga sides, with Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid conceding 8,7 and 6 times against him recently. However, the Brazilian is not as prolific against Real Madrid, only scoring against them thrice.
Here is where Neymar ranks :
| # | Player | Club | Games | Goals | GPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 100 | 111 | 1.11 |
| 2 | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 71 | 63 | 0.89 |
| 3 | Ronaldo Nazario | Barcelona + Real Madrid | 100 | 82 | 0.82 |
| 4 | Neymar Jr. | Barcelona | 100 | 59 | 0.59 |
| 5 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | 89 | 50 | 0.56 |
| 6 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 100 | 48 | 0.48 |
| 7 | David Villa | Real Zaragoza + Valencia | 100 | 48 | 0.48 |
| 8 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 100 | 45 | 0.45 |
| 9 | Raul | Real Madrid | 100 | 44 | 0.44 |
| 10 | Samuel Eto’o | RCD Mallorca | 100 | 35 | 0.35 |
#3 Ronaldo Nazario – Barcelona and Real Madrid – 82 goals in first 100 games
Barcelona parted with a world record fee for Ronaldo in 1996, and the Brazilian responded with aplomb, scoring 34 times in 37 games for the Catalans, a rate of 0.92 gpg. After moving to Inter Milan, Ronaldo returned to La Liga with Real Madrid and proceeded to plunder 48 goals in the next 63 games for Real Madrid, a much lower rate of 0.76 gpg.
Ronaldo finished his La Liga career with 117 goals in 164 games for both Barca and Madrid, a rate of 0.71 gpg. The Brazilian was most prolific against Real Madrid's cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid, netting 10 times against them, while also scoring a much lower 4 times against Barcelona.
#2 Luis Suarez – Barcelona – 63 goals in first 71 games
Barcelona prised Luis Suarez away from Liverpool for a huge fee, and since he scored 69 goals in 110 games for the Reds, the Catalans could have expected a rate comparable to 0.63 goals per game. However, the Uruguayan has blown away all of his La Liga opponents, racking up 63 goals in 71 games for, a stunning rate of 0.89 goals per game.
Suarez netted the second goal in the previous 3-2 win over Valencia in Neymar’s 100th game, and they are now his favourite opponents, with Los Che conceding 7 times against him. Real Madrid have suffered thrice at the feet of the feisty Uruguayan, but if Suarez continues his career at Barcelona that number is likely to increase.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid – 111 goals in first 100 goals
The Portuguese superstar has many a record, and his rate of 1.11 goals per game in his first 100 games for Real Madrid is the best in La Liga. After his first 100 games, Ronaldo has stunningly gone on to score at a similar rate of 1.06 gpg, plundering in 151 goals in 142 games since, bringing his La Liga total to 262 goals in 242 games for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo is in the midst of his worst spell of form in a Real Madrid shirt, going 4 games without scoring, which is a testimony to how regularly he scores. The Portugal star’s favourite opponents are Sevilla, who have conceded 22 times against him. Barcelona are also one of Ronaldo’s most favourite opponents, as he has scored 16 times against Madrid’s hated rivals.
