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Real Madrid are one of the most successful football clubs not only Spain but across the world of football. Los Blancos created history in the past decade by becoming the first team in the history of the game to record a hattrick of Champions League wins, as Zinedine Zidane's side won European football's elite club competitions successively between 2016 and 2018.
Including their historic feat and another European Cup they won in 2014 under Carlo Ancelotti, Real have won 2 La Liga titles (2011-12, 2016-17), Copa del Rey's (2010-11, 2013-14) and Spanish Super Cup's apiece (2012 and 2017) - an impressive record in one of the most successful era's for the club in the modern era.
Their trophy haul aside, Los Blancos have also been home to some of the most feared strikers in the world since the club's inception. That said, here are 5 of the best Real Madrid strikers of the decade.
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#5 Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez
Javier Hernandez's inclusion might come off as surprising but looking at Real Madrid squads over the past decade, one thing becomes obvious - not too many strikers donned the white shirt in that period.
While Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy departed the club in 2010, the likes of Raul de Tomas, Borja Mayoral and Mariano Diaz were relatively unknown at the time or failed to make an impression at the club, while Emmanuel Adebayor did not hit the ground running during his loan spell at the club.
Chicharito though, left his mark in the Spanish capital as he was involved in 2 important moments that season. Signing for Los Blancos on a season-long loan deal for the 14/15 season, the Mexican scored the only goal of the tie as Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to secure qualification to the semi-final of the Champions League.
The striker topped off his exploits with another brace 4 days later against Celta Vigo in the La Liga, a spell that saw him attain cult hero status at the club. Hernandez capped off a short but memorable stint with Los Blancos as he returned to Manchester United at the end of the season with 7 goals and a FIFA Club World Cup winners medal to his name.
#4 Gonzalo Higuain
Gonzalo Higuain, despite what the numbers suggest, will probably not be remembered fondly by the fans at any of the clubs he's represented. Second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, a controversial switch to Juventus at the end of a stunning Napoli career, unsuccessful loan spells at AC Milan and Chelsea, or for the sheer fact that he's simply overshadowed at the Old Lady.
The striker spent 6 years at Real Madrid, the longest he's ever stayed at a club in his professional career but was never really the main man at any point of time, as he largely played second fiddle to the likes of Raul, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema over the course of his career.
With 48 Real Madrid goals to his name in the past decade, the Argentine scored goals at a reasonable rate given his lack of game time at the Spanish side and joined Napoli in search of regular game time with 1 La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Cup apiece to his name.
#3 Alvaro Morata
Currently turning out for local rivals Atletico Madrid, Alvaro Morata made a name for himself on the other side of the Spanish capital, where he was tipped to be a future star at Real Madrid at the start of the decade. Since making his debut in 2010 under then manager Jose Mourinho, Morata held his own playing alongside some of the best players in the world and became a first-team regular in the 2011/12 season.
While he largely played second fiddle to Karim Benzema in his first stint at the club before being sold with a buyback clause to Juventus in the Serie A, Morata was part of Los Blancos' La Decima winning squad under Carlo Ancelotti in 2014, before eventually returning to the club in 2016.
His second stint would go down as an unwavering success despite his one year stay at the club, as he came off the bench and scored at crucial interventions of the season to help Real on their way to a La Liga and UEFA Champions League double.
The Spaniard has since then plied his trade with Chelsea and Atletico Madrid but spent the most fruitful days of his career at the Santiago Bernabeu, where he won 7 major trophies and had the most prolific goalscoring season of his senior career.
#2 Karim Benzema
Despite being tipped for big things after sealing a dream move to Los Blancos from Lyon, Karim Benzema failed to live up to the hype in his first 12 months at the club was largely used as a substitute by both Manuel Pellegrini and Jose Mourinho, with Gonzalo Higuain given the nod ahead of him.
After a lukewarm start to life at his new club, it is at the start of the 2011-12 season where Benzema came into his own and made his presence felt at the Spanish capital. Having been advised by current manager Zinedine Zidane, who was involved with Real Madrid Castilla at the time, to undergo weight loss treatment and build up his muscle mass, the Frenchman returned to Real Madrid in peak physical condition and became a key player for his side, forming a lethal partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Since then, he has gone on to become an indispensable member of the squad and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation, as Real Madrid dominated European football between 2014 and 2018.
With 161 goals and 12 trophies to his name, including 2 La Ligas and a staggering 4 UEFA Champions League victories, Benzema is still going strong at the club and is all set to retire as one of their greatest ever foreign exports.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo's inclusion is an obvious one, as the legendary Portuguese international is not only the greatest striker to grace the Santiago Bernabeu turf, but also one of the most decorated players in the glittering history of Real Madrid.
Having signed from Manchester United for a then world-record fee of £80 million, Ronaldo's unveiling at the club was attended by 80,000 fans, who witnessed history in the making as he would go on to break multiple long-standing records with the La Liga outfit.
While he arrived as the Ballon d'Or winner at the time, Ronaldo went on to win the prized accolade 4 more times in his time at the club, making him one of the greatest players to have ever graced the game and in his time at Real, he broke several records domestically as well as in Europe.
With an astonishing tally of 450 goals across 438 appearances in his 9-year spell at the club, Ronaldo is Real Madrid's all-time top scorer and departed the club in 2018 with 11 major trophies to his name, including a pair of La Liga titles and 4 UEFA Champions Leagues.
The legendary attackers cemented his status as one of the greats of the game in his time in Spain and in doing so, also oversaw the most successful era in recent times at Real Madrid, as he spearheaded them to unthinkable heights before leaving to attempt a new challenge with Juventus in the Serie A.
