Top 10 ranking of the best Real Madrid legends of all time

Top 10 ranking of the best Real Madrid legends of all time

Kevin Omuya
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:57 PM

There appears to be some fascinating trail leading towards the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu that will inevitably attract and fascinate the world's greatest footballers. Real Madrid has always had a plethora of the sport's brightest stars on its roster. Find out how the best Real Madrid legends of all time are ranked.

Real Madrid legends of all time
Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: UGC

Only one of the current team's players can legitimately compete with the club's greats in Los Blancos' history. And it's unquestionably Cristiano Ronaldo. This article provides you with the top ten best real Madrid legends of all time.

Top 10 Real Madrid legends

Most of the club's top players come from different eras. Using the most recent statistics, we have compiled a list of Real Madrid legends.

10. Roberto Carlos

Real Madrid legends
Roberto Carlos of Gold standard in action during a friendly match at Wanda Metropolitan on December 21, 2019, Madrid, Spain. Photo: Quality Sport
Source: Getty Images

Roberto Carlos is regarded as one of the best Real Madrid legends defenders in the game's history. The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner was also a set-piece specialist, scoring several long-range thunderbolts. With 16 goals, he is the most prolific goalscoring defender in UEFA Champions League history (along with Gerard Pique).

He made over 500 appearances, scoring 70 goals and setting up another 90. He won four La Liga championships and three Champions Leagues with the club. In 2021, Carlos' was among the former Real Madrid players in the Real Madrid legends match against Barcelona legends.

9. Karim Benzema

Real Madrid legends
Karim Benzema of Real Madrid controls the ball during the LaLiga Santander match against Rayo Vallecano at Campo de Futbol de Vallecas on February 26, 2022, in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Denis Doyle
Source: Getty Images

Benzema joined the club in the same summer of 2009. The former Lyon striker spent most of his time in the shadow of his legendary teammate Cristiano Ronaldo who later left for Juventus in 2018, leaving Benzema to step up big time.

Benzema has scored more than 100 goals in just over three seasons. The four-time Champions League and three-time La Liga winner has 17 goals and 12 assists across competitions. He recently scored his 200th La Liga goal, moving him into the competition's top ten all-time scorers list.

8. Iker Casillas

Real Madrid legends
Iker Casillas attends the La Liga Champions gala red carpet at the Reina Sofia museum In Madrid on July 30, 2021, Madrid, Spain. Photo: Pablo Cuadra.
Source: Getty Images

Iker Casillas is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the Real Madrid legends lineup. The club's legend won every major club and country title. The two-time European Championship and FIFA World Cup winner won five La Liga and three Champions League titles with the Merengues. Casillas kept 264 clean sheets in over 750 games across 16 seasons.

His quick reflexes and one-on-one ability made him an icon of the global game and one of the biggest Real Madrid legends in club history.

7. Fernando Hierro

Real Madrid legends
Head coach Fernando Hierro of Spain gestures during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia match between Spain and Russia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on July 01, 2018. Photo: TF-Images
Source: Getty Images

Fernando Hierro holds a special place in Los Blancos and La Liga's histories. With 127 goals, the 53-year-old is the capital club's most prolific goal-scorer. Over a hundred of these goals came in La Liga, which Hierro won five times.

Hierro scored 21 goals in the 1991-1992 season. He amassed an incredible 102 La Liga goals for the club, making him one of the famous Real Madrid legends. For 14 seasons, the three-time Champions League champion wore the team's jersey more than 600 times. Hierro also filled in as a sweeper and defensive midfielder.

6. Paco Gento

Real Madrid legends
Paco Gento received the Sports National 2013 Award during the 34th Gala Nacional del Deporte at the Palacio de Festivales on March 3, 2014, in Santander, Spain. Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce
Source: Getty Images

Paco Gento is a Real Madrid legend all on his own. The 88-year-old is the only one among the Real Madrid legends players in history to have won six European Cups (now known as the UEFA Champions League), five of which he did in a row.

He appeared in over 600 club games and scored nearly 200 goals. Paco Gento is the honorary president and the only player to have won six European Cups. Former Spain international is widely regarded as one of the country's all-time greatest players. Gento had an excellent long-range shot and the ability to cross from the flanks.

5. Raul

Real Madrid legends
Head coach Raul Gonzalez of Real Madrid Castilla looks on during the Segunda Division B match against CF Talavera de la Reina at Ciudad on April 17, 2021 in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Angel Martinez
Source: Getty Images

Raul is regarded as a legend in Real Madrid history. The former Spain attacker is one of only two Los Blancos legends in club history to have scored more than 300 goals. Raul was Los Blanco's all-time leading scorer before Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed him with 323 goals in nearly 750 games for the capital club (more on him later).

Raul played a crucial role in the club's six La Liga and three Champions League victories during his illustrious 16-year tenure with the Merengues. Raul remains the youngest player to score three goals in a Champions League game two and a half decades after scoring a hat-trick as an 18-year-old.

4. Ferenc Puskas

Real Madrid legends
14th, May 1965, Ferenc Puskas of Real Madrid, pictured throwing flowers to fans before their games against AEK Athens game in Athens. The match finished in a 3-3 draw Photo: Popperfoto
Source: Getty Images

Magyar, the magnificent, arrived at the club shortly after turning 30. During an eight-season stint at the club, Puskas scored nearly 250 goals and won three European Cups and five La Liga titles. He formed a lethal attacking third with Alfredo Di Stefano, Kopa, and Paco Gento.

He is remembered as one of the best Real Madrid midfielders. FIFA named their annual Best Goal of the Year award after the late four-time Pichichi winner Puskas. Puskas died in 2006, at the age of 79, from pneumonia, but his legacy lives on.

3. Sergio Ramos

Real Madrid legends
In Paris, France, Sergio Ramos of PSG celebrates his goal during the Ligue 1 Uber Eats match against Stade de Reims at Parc des Princes stadium on January 23, 2022. Photo: John Berry
Source: Getty Images

A former Los Blancos captain, Sergio Ramos is a premier goal-scoring defender. The 35-year-old is only the second defender in club history to score 100 goals in over 650 games. Ramos, who left the club this summer to PSG, is among the few Real Madrid players in two Champions League finals.

As one of the Real Madrid legends still playing, Ramos is now at PSG. He has a stellar track record for both club and country. Spain's most capped player has won two European Championships and one FIFA World Cup.

2. Alfredo De Stephano

Top ten Ranking the best Real Madrid legends of all time
The Argentine soccer player of 'Real Madrid' Alfredo Di Stefano in training at Santiago Bernabeu' stadium, 1964, Madrid. Photo: Gianni Ferrari
Source: Getty Images

The late Argentine scored goals and won major titles during a productive decade-long stint at the capital club. The two-time Ballon d'Or winner won eight La Liga titles and five consecutive European Cups. He scored in each of the five European Cup finals he appeared in, the reason why he is known as one of the Real Madrid football legends.

1. Christiano Ronaldo

Top ten Ranking the best Real Madrid legends of all time
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United with the ball during the UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 match against Atletico Madrid at Wanda on February 23, 2022, in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Diego Souto
Source: Getty Images

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was instrumental in Los Blancos becoming the first club in Champions League history to complete a three-peat. Ronaldo is one of only two players in La Liga history to have scored over 300 goals. He was the first to reach the 40-goal mark. That made him top the list of Real Madrid legends of all time.

Christiano was the first player to score 100 goals in the competition for a single club. He also won four titles of Champions league in five years. Manchester United attacker scored the club's 450th and final goal against archrivals Barcelona. He is top-rated in Real Madrid legends FIFA.

The club has won 13 European Cups and 33 La Liga titles. Real Madrid legends are widely regarded as the world's most potent. Of course, some of the best players in history have donned the famous white jersey.

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Authors
Kevin Omuya photo
Kevin Omuya
Kevin Omuya is a Content Writer with 4 years of experience who joined Sports Brief in 2022. In 2019 he held a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism & Digital Media from KCA University.