The La Liga Golden Boot is awarded to the Spanish La Liga top scorer at the end of every season.
Compared to other leagues like the English Premier League, Italian Serie A and Bundesliga, the award is usually a tight race for players to constantly notch in the goals.
So, who won the most golden boots in La Liga? Former FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi leads the list of most Golden Boots in the Spanish La Liga with eight awards. This includes five consecutive wins from 2017 to 2021.
La Liga Golden Boot winners list
23-24- Artem Dovbyk
22-23 - Robert Lewandowski
2021–22 – Karim Benzema 27 Goals (Real Madrid, France)
2020–21 – Lionel Messi 30 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2019–20 – Lionel Messi 25 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2018–19 – Lionel Messi 36 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2017–18 – Lionel Messi 34 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2016–17 – Lionel Messi 37 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2015–16 – LuÃs Suarez 40 (FC Barcelona, Uruguay)
2014–15 – Cristiano Ronaldo 48 Goals (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2013–14 – Cristiano Ronaldo – 31 Goals (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2012–13 – Lionel Messi 46 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2011–12 – Lionel Messi 50 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2010–11 – Cristiano Ronaldo 40 Goals (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2009–10 – Lionel Messi 34 Goals (FC Barcelona, Argentina)
2008–09 – Diego Forlán 32 Goals (Atlético Madrid, Uruguay)
2007–08 – Daniel Güiza 27 Goals (Mallorca, Spain)
2006–07 – Ruud van Nistelrooy 25 Goals (Real Madrid, Netherlands)
2005–06 – Samuel Eto’o 26 Goals (FC Barcelona, Cameroon)
2004–05 – Diego Forlán and Samuel Eto’o 25 Goals
2003–04 – Ronaldo 24 Goals (Real Madrid, Brazil)
2002–03 – Roy Makaay 29 Goals (Deportivo La Coruña, Netherlands)
2001–02 – Diego Tristán 20 Goals (Deportivo La Coruña, Spain)
2000–01 – Raúl 24 Goals (Real Madrid, Spain)
1999–2000 – Salva Ballesta 27 Goals (Racing Santander, Spain)
Players with Most La Liga Golden Boot Awards
Lionel Messi (8 Awards)
Lionel Messi remains one of the best footballers in the Spanish La Liga. Messi leads the Spanish league top scorers chart with eight awards, all at FC Barcelona.
Messi began his professional football career with Barcelona and debuted for the Catalan club in a competitive game against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League in 2003.
The Argentine won his first Spanish league Golden Boot Award in the 2009–10 football season, scoring 34 goals in 35 appearances and having a goal ratio of about 0.97 to help FC Barcelona claim their 20th title.
Messi’s 34 goals helped him win the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or, The European Golden Shoe and the Argentine Men’s Footballer Of The Year.
A year after missing out on the top scorer award following Cristiano Ronaldo’s 40 goals tally, Messi went on to win the prize twice in the 2011–12 and the 2012–13 campaigns. The Argentine, however, went on a three-year hiatus at the top of the leading scorer’s chart due to consistency and injury concerns.
But the Argentine returned to the summit, creating an incredible record of five consecutive La Liga Golden Boot awards from 2017 to 2021 by scoring an average goal of 30 per season.
To date, Lionel Messi remains one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the Spanish La Liga. In total, 474 goals across 520 appearances from 2004 to 2021.
Telmo Zarra (6 Awards)
A football fan born in 1954 would never know about the record of Telmo Zarra, who was a goal machine at Athletic Club Bilbao. The Spaniard was the first club player in the Spanish league to win over six awards with a single club.
Telmo won 6 awards and is the second player with Most La Liga Golden Boots. He won his first award in 1944–45, scoring 20 goals and winning three consecutive awards.
After a two-year hiatus after leading the chart, Telmo returned to the summit to claim more awards consecutively. In summary of his successful career in the Spanish league with Athletic Bilbao, Zarra won six awards in nine years.
Alfredo di Stéfano (5 Awards)
On the list of greatest goalscorers that have ever played in the Spanish league, Alfredo Di Stéfano holds a place due to his performance in the Spanish football scene.
The Argentine played for two Spanish football clubs (Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol), winning the La Liga Golden Boot five times, all at Real Madrid. Stefano was a prolific goal scorer regarded as one of the greatest footballers.
Alfredo di Stéfano won his first award a couple of months after joining Real Madrid from the South American football giants Club Atlético River Plate.
Consistently pulling through the Spanish football scene, Stéfano wasn’t just a passer-by but contributed a lot to Real Madrid’s success which included winning the La Liga title, the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
Following his remarkable achievement in the Spanish top flight, the Argentine switched to RCD Espanyol, where he also played for some seasons.
Quini (5 Awards)
Enrique Castro González, popularly known as Quini, may not be the most famous name. Quinn was one of the biggest names in Spanish football and was a prolific goal scorer.
He won significant trophies with FC Barcelona, including the Spanish La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
Quini won five La Liga Golden Boot awards, three at Sporting Gijón and the remaining two at FC Barcelona.
Hugo Sánchez (5 Awards)
Hugo Sánchez is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the Spanish league. Sánchez also holds the record as the greatest North American player in the La Liga.
Sánchez played for the Mexican Men’s National Team, winning an impressive number of La Liga titles, the Supercopa de España, Copa del Rey and the UEFA Cup.
Hugo Sánchez was one of the most prolific forwards in the Spanish top flight from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Scoring over 234 three Spanish clubs, he won five awards.
Ferenc Puskás (4 Awards)
Ferenc Puskás is one of the greatest players in football history and was dubbed the first international superstar with top-notch consistency scoring 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary.
Puskás was a great player whose strength was scoring goals at the highest level for club and country.
Playing for Real Madrid, Ferenc Puskás won numerous La Liga titles, an Intercontinental Cup and three European Cups with the Los Blancos, making him a club great to date.
Winning four La Liga Golden Boots, all at Real Madrid, Ferenc Puskás scored an average of 22 goals across the seasons he won the award.
Other winners of the award
1998–99 – Raúl 25 Goals (Real Madrid, Spain)
1997–98 – Christian Vieri 24 Goals (Atlético Madrid, Italy)
1996–97 – Ronaldo 34 Goals (FC Barcelona, Brazil)
1995–96 – Juan Antonio Pizzi 31 Goals (Tenerife, Spain)
1994–95 – Iván Zamorano 28 Goals (Real Madrid, Chile)
1993–94 – Romário 30 Goals (FC Barcelona, Brazil)
1992–93 – Bebeto 29 Goals (Deportivo La Coruña, Brazil)
1991–92 – Manolo 27 Goals (Atlético Madrid, Spain)
1990–91 – Emilio Butragueño 19 Goals (Real Madrid, Spain)
1989–90 – Hugo Sánchez 38 Goals (Real Madrid, Mexico)
1988–89 – Baltazar 35 Goals (Atlético Madrid, Brazil)
1987–88 – Hugo Sánchez 29 Goals (Real Madrid, Mexico)
1986–87 – Hugo Sánchez 34 Goals (Real Madrid, Mexico)
1985–86 – Hugo Sánchez 22 Goals (Real Madrid, Mexico)
1984–85 Hugo Sánchez 19 Goals (Real Madrid, Mexico)
1983–84 – Jorge da Silva and Juanito 17 Goals
1982–83 – Poli Rincón 20 Goals (Real Betis, Spain)
1981–82 – Quini 27 Goals (FC Barcelona, Spain)
1980–81 – Quini 20 Goals (FC Dallas, Spain)
1979–80 – Quini 24 Goals (Sporting Gijón, Spain)
1978–79 – Hans Krankl 29 Goals (FC Barcelona, Austria)
1977–78 – Mario Kempes 28 Goals (Valencia, Argentina)
1976–77 – Mario Kempes 24 Goals (Valencia, Argentina)
1975–76 – Quini 21 Goals (Sporting Gijón, Spain)
1974–75 – Carlos 19 Goals (Athletic Bilbao, Spain)
1973–74 – Quini 20 Goals (Sporting Gijón, Spain)
1972–73 – MarianÃn 19 Goals (Oviedo, Spain)
1971–72 – Enrique Porta 20 Goals (Granada, Spain)
1970–71 – José Eulogio Gárate and Carles Rexach 17 Goals
1969–70 – Amancio, Luis Aragonés and José Eulogio Gárate 16 Goals
1968–69 – Amancio and José Eulogio Gárate 14 Goals
1967–68 – Fidel Uriarte 22 Goals (Athletic Bilbao, Spain)
1966–67 – Waldo 24 Goals (Valencia, Brazil)
1965–66 – Luis Aragonés 18 Goals (Atlético Madrid, Spain)
1964–65 – Cayetano Ré 26 Goals (Paraguay, FC Barcelona)
1963–64 – Ferenc Puskás 21 Goals (Real Madrid, Hungary)
1962–63 – Ferenc Puskás 26 Goals (Real Madrid, Hungary)
In the history of the Spanish league, some of the greatest football players in the world like Raúl, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Hugo Sánchez, Telmo Zarra, Alfredo di Stéfano, Quini and Hugo Sánchez have won the award.
In the modern era of the Spanish league, two greats, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, dominated the La Liga Golden Boot. The duo won a total of eleven La Liga Golden Boots.
Other notable players like Raúl, Ronaldo, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Forlán and Luis Suarez have also registered their names on the list of winners.
Lionel Messi, who played the best part of his football career in the Spanish top flight with FC Barcelona,won over eight awards.