10 Best Real Madrid Players of All Time: 2023 Edition
Who are the best Real Madrid players of all time? These players started for one of the most prestigious clubs in the world.
Best Real Madrid Players
These players left their mark at Real Madrid, a lasting legacy at a club full of history. Let’s take a look at the 10 best Real Madrid players of all time.
10. Zidane
Zinedine Zidane joined Real Madrid in 2001 and had an immediate impact. He won the Champions League in 2001-02 and La Liga in 2002-03 with the club and mesmerized fans with his passing, ball control and playmaking ability.
Zidane only played five seasons at Real Madrid but he left an everlasting impact at the club. In 155 league games for the club, scoring 37 goals and 51 assists before retiring in 2006.
In 2016 Zidane became manager of Real Madrid, winning two La Liga championships and the Champions League in three successive years.
9. Luka Modric
In 2012 Luka Modric joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for about £30 million. A midfield maestro, Modric showed technical brilliance and was a major contribution both attacking and defensively,
The Croatian was a major contributor in Real Madrid’s 2016-17, 2019-20 and 2021-22 La Liga championship sides, and he played a key part in five Champions League titles.
Modric’s biggest achievement was being awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2018 on the back of Croatia making the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final. It was the first time since 2007 that a player outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had won the award.
8. Iker Casillas
Iker Casillas is one of the best goalkeepers ever and is one of Real Madrd’s best players ever. He had excellent goalkeeping skills, leadership, and a long-standing loyalty to the club. He won 19 titles in his 25 years at the club.
7. Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema ended a 14-year career at Real Madrid, joining Saudi giants Al-Ittihad in 2023. He left the club as Real Madrid’s second highest goalscorer of all time, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.
Benzema won 25 trophies at the club including four La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns. He sensationally was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2022 and is the second oldest winner of the award at 34 years and 302 days old.
6. Raul
After 16 years at the club Raul retired as Real Madrid’s highest goalscorer in all competitions, Cristiano Ronaldo surpassing him in 2015.
Raul played 550 games in La Liga and he left his mark as one of the best Real Madrid players ever, his leadership and ability to score at crucial times invaluable.
He scored 228 goals won six La Liga titles, and also added three UEFA Champions League titles and scored in two finals.
5. Francisco “Paco” Gento
One of the greatest Spanish footballers ever, Francisco “Paco” Gento is one of the greatest players ever for Real Madrid. The lightning quick winger had exceptional pace and skill and was a major part of the club’s success throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
In eight European Cup finals, Gento won six of those, and he collected 12 La Liga titles during his 18 seasons at the club. He went on to score 182 goals in 600 official matches and is one of the greatest left wingers in history.
4. Sergio Ramos
One of the greatest defenders in football history, Sergio Ramos joined Real Madrid in 2005 from Sevilla and enjoyed 16 phenomenal seasons at the club.
Not only was he one of the best defensively, he made major attacking contributions and he scored 72 league goals in 469 appearances.
One of the best Real Madrid players ever, Ramos won five La Liga championships and four UEFA Champions League titles, leaving behind a legacy as a true Real Madrid legend.
3. Ferenc Puskas
Puskas’ goal scoring made him an icon, so much so that FIFA’s annual “most beautiful” goal of the year award is named after him.
After arriving at Real Madrid from Budapest Honved, Puskas was a key figure in Real Madrid’s golden era during the 1950s and 1960s.
During eight seasons with Real, Puskás played 180 La Liga games, scored 156 goals, won five Spanish league titles and three European Cups.
2. Alfredo Di Stefano
Real Madrid dominated throughout the 1950s and 1960s and Alfredo Di Stefano was a big part of that. In 11 years with the club he won 8 Spanish championships and five consecutive European Cups.
Di Stefano scored 308 goals in 396 official matches and is quite possibly the best all-round player in history. It was only decades later this goalscoring record would be passed by Raul.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest player of all time and he’s the best Real Madrid player of all time. During his nine-year spell at Real Madrid he set numerous records that are unlikely to ever be beaten.
After joining from Manchester United for £80 million in 2009, Ronaldo won four Champions League titles and two La Liga titles. He scored an astonishing 450 goals in just 438 appearances for Real Madrid with 311 of those in the league goals from 292 games.
