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El Clasico, the biggest fixture in club football, is finally upon us as Barcelona and Real Madrid gear up for a massive showdown on Sunday. All eyes will be on superstars from either team to step up and create some remarkable memories, especially the goalscorers.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ruled this fixture for several years, with their incredible exploits in front of goal. Although neither will participate in the clash this time, they remain two of the greatest goalscorers in El Clasico history.
The two iconic players stand alongside other legendary players who have also etched their names in El Clasico history with their spectacular goalscoring exploits. On that note, here's a list of the five greatest goalscorers in El Clasico history:
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#5 Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento, Cesar Rodriguez - 14 goals
The Real Madrid duo of Ferenc Puskas and Francisco Gento both bagged 14 El Clasico goals during their stints at the Santiago Bernabeu. That is exactly the same number of goals Cesar Rodriguez scored for Barcelona in the famous fixture.
Rodriguez represented the Blaugrana for 16 years - between 1939 and 1955 - although he had a few loan spells in between. The striker bagged a whopping 195 goals and two assists throughout his spell at Camp Nou, winning five league titles and three domestic cups.
Puskas, meanwhile, played for Real Madrid between 1958 and 1966, recording 195 goals to his name in 223 appearances. Gento, who shared the dressing room with Puskas at the Santiago Bernabeu for a few years, bagged 159 goals and three assists for the club.
#4 Raul Gonzalez - 15 goals
Raul Gonzalez, one of the greatest players to wear the Real Madrid jersey, was a huge force to be reckoned with during his stint in the Spanish capital. The Spaniard cherished every time he faced Barcelona, scoring a lot of goals against them.
Raul ranks fourth on the list of the most prolific goalscorers in El Clasico history, with 15 goals to his name. The Spaniard featured in a whopping 37 El Clasicos. His first appearance in the historic fixture came in Real Madrid's 5-0 rout of Barcelona in January 1995. His last was a 2-0 defeat to the Blaugrana in April 2010.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo - 18 goals
Alongside his eternal rival Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo dominated El Clasico in the last decade with his spectacular displays in front of goal. The Portuguese bagged 18 goals for Real Madrid against Barcelona during his nine-year stint at the Santiago Bernabeu. Nine of those goals came in La Liga, five came in the Copa del Rey and four in the Spanish Super Cup.
Ronaldo holds the record for the most consecutive games scored in the history of the famous fixture. He bagged seven goals in six consecutive games across the 2011-12 and 2012-13 campaigns. In total, Ronaldo faced Barcelona 31 times as a Real Madrid player, recording nine victories, eight draws and 13 defeats.
#2 Alfredo di Stefano - 18 goals
Alfredo Di Stefano was the all-time goalscorer in El Clasico history for several years before Lionel Messi broke his record in 2014. During his time as a Real Madrid player, Di Stefano bagged a whopping 18 goals for the Spanish giants against their arch-rivals.
He scored 14 of them in La Liga, two in the Copa del Rey and two in Europe. The Argentine holds the record for being the oldest goalscorer in El Clasico history. He was 37 years and 164 days old when he scored against Barcelona during a Liga clash on December 15, 1963.
#1 Lionel Messi - 26 goals
Lionel Messi is, without a doubt, the greatest player in the history of El Clasico. The Argentine participated in the fixture for the first time in his career as an 18-year-old on November 19, 2005. He made an instant impact, assisting Samuel Eto'o to open the scoring before Ronaldinho scored twice to secure a 3-0 victory for Barcelona.
What followed thereafter was several years of the playmaker's brilliant exploits against Real Madrid, both home and away. Lionel Messi is El Clasico's all-time top goalscorer, with an impressive tally of 26 goals to his name across competitions.
He scored 18 of them in La Liga, six in the Spanish Super Cup and two in the Champions League. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner faced Real Madrid 45 times during his days at the Camp Nou, recording 19 victories, 11 draws and 15 defeats.
Messi holds the record for the most assists in El Clasico history (14) and appearances (45, shared with Sergio Ramos). Alongside the likes of Ferenc Puskas, Jaime Lazcano and Santiago Bernabeu, the Argentine also has the most hat-tricks (2) in the iconic fixture.
