Top 5 attackers in La Liga (August 2021)
Last season, La Liga produced a combined tally of 953 goals scored in the league, led by a certain Lionel Messi, with 30 of this total coming from the talismanic forward.
This impressive total only puts the Spanish top-flight, fourth among the top five European leagues in purely goal-scoring terms. Only the German Bundesliga witnessed a lower inflow of goals.
Nevertheless, this fact is more of a testament to the defensive pedigree of the league since La Liga contains some of the finest attackers of our generation, even after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Italy.
La Liga attackers and the European Golden Shoe
With Ronaldo ending his nine-year stay in Madrid through a €117m-move to Juventus, the task of maintaining La Liga's dominance at the Golden Boot ceremony fell solely on Lionel Messi.
The dynamic duo have been responsible for winning 10 of the last 13 editions of the prestigious award, with the mercurial Portuguese winning his first of four golden boots at Manchester United.
Consequently, La Liga attackers were at the helm of this continental supremacy for more than a decade, with Ciro Immobile becoming the first forward in 11 years, to win the coveted title in 2020, whilst playing for a non-Spanish team.
Diego Forlan (1x) and Luis Suarez (2x) are the only other players to have outscored the two 'goats' during this period, in the 08/09 and 15/16 seasons to be precise. Interestingly, the Uruguayan attacker shared the spoils with Ronaldo during the 13/14 season.
With Messi technically a free agent at the time of writing, doubts regarding La Liga's remaining offensive talents are bound to pop up. However, the Spanish top-tier boasts an elite roster of attackers, even after excluding the Argentine magician.
Here, we take a look at 5 of the best forwards currently contracted to a club in Spain:
#5 Memphis Depay (FC Barcelona)
Memphis Depay has yet to play an official match for his new team, Barcelona. Even so, he already possesses the skills to qualify himself as one of the best attackers in La Liga.
The Dutch forward is fresh off a prolific season with Lyon which saw him produce a whopping 32 goal contributions, comprising 20 goals and 12 assists in Ligue 1.
This impressive tally would rank him fourth in La Liga's top goal scorers last season, while only Lionel Messi finished with better overall statistics on an individual basis than Depay.
The 27-year-old attacker will be hoping to play alongside the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, come next season. Adept at playing as a striker as well as on the wings, Depay was reborn as a player in France after two turbulent seasons in Manchester.
Now at the peak of his physical and technical prowess, Depay rejected Lyon's offer to extend his contract and chose to upgrade his surroundings by joining Barcelona on a free transfer. His current deal would keep him at the club until 2023.
The Dutchman has been placed in such a low position for the sole reason that he is yet to make his La Liga debut.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona)
If such a list had been drafted before his poorly-constructed transfer to Barcelona, Antonie Griezmann would easily have snuck into the top 3. However, due to some mediocre displays over the past two seasons, especially taking his ridiculously high standards as well as the colossal €120m price-tag into account, Griezmann could only muster a generous fourth place inclusion here.
The 30-year-old French attacker had somewhat of a renaissance period with the Blaugrana last season, grabbing 21 goal involvements in a troubled first year under the stewardship of Ronald Koeman.
He particularly improved his relationship with teammate Lionel Messi, both on-and-off the field, en route to his best La Liga season in a Barca shirt.
With the incomings of Sergio Aguero and the aforementioned Depay, Griezmann may see a significant reduction in his playing time next season. However, among multiple rumors linking the La Liga attacker to a move away from the Camp Nou, reports have surfaced, suggesting that Griezmann's work ethic has impressed the current Barcelona boss.
If his 2021-form has anything to say, keeping the World Cup winner on their books might just turn out to be tactically beneficial for the Spanish giants, if not financially.
Also read: Ranking the 5 successful La Liga clubs with most incoming transfers in the last decade