Top 5 legendary Atletico Madrid strikers over the years: Modern day heroes

Atletico Madrid boast a long list of talented strikers in their history. It’s perhaps impossible to even begin ranking the legendary strikers that have represented the club, given the fact they spent different periods of their careers there.

But which modern-day heroes come to mind when thinking of Atletico’s iconic strikers?

Here's our pick of the very best Rojiblancos from the post-1995 three-points-per-win era.

Modern-day top 5 legendary Atletico Madrid strikers over the years

Fernando Torres

All of the entries here have also represented Atletico well on the international scene, and Fernando Torres undoubtedly sits right at the very top of the list when it comes to the club’s legendary homegrown talents. The Spaniard was a product of Atletico’s youth team, with his ability coming to the fore very quickly, as he became captain aged just 19.

A phenomenal six-year spell came to an end when he joined Liverpool, but as all club legends do, Torres returned to Atletico late in his career to say a proper goodbye. His record stands at 128 goals from 390 matches, duly putting him proudly in third place amongst the all-time list of Atletico goalscorers:

Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero is another to have spent the majority of his youth career in the red and white of the Spanish capital. And again, he is another to have been lured away from Atletico with a big-money move to England.

But before his time at Manchester City, the Argentine spent five years at Atletico terrorising defences. The striker was a huge fan favourite, with his clinical finishing helping the club to Europa League and UEFA Super Cup success. Aguero netted 101 goals in his 234 appearances there.

Diego Forlan

Not far behind Aguero in the club’s all-time scoring list is fellow South American Diego Forlan. A flop at Manchester United, the Uruguayan quickly put those bad memories behind him during his time in La Liga.

His initial success came at Villarreal, but Spanish football fans will remember him most fondly for his four years at Atletico. His veteran status helped nurture a young Aguero, as the pair fired the club to European success.

The legendary striker hit a total of 96 goals in almost 200 matches for Los Colchoneros.

Diego Costa

Costa has posted some astonishing records in front of goal at a number of clubs. This was no different during his multiple spells in the Spanish capital, where he endeared himself to the Atletico supporters thanks to his superb finishing and aggressive approach to the game.

The Spanish international terrified La Liga defenders for many years, winning multiple trophies along the way. His honours list there includes two league titles, the Copa del Rey, Europa League, and three Super Cups.

Overall, Costa managed 83 goals from his 216 matches at the club.

Radamel Falcao

Radamel Falcao earned cult hero status at the club during his two seasons there. He has a Copa del Rey, Europa League and Super Cup to show for it, but his time in Madrid will be remembered for the phenomenal goals he scored, and indeed just how often they arrived.

Aside from a dismal spell with Manchester United, Falcao’s numbers speak volumes. In his prime, Falcao hit 72 goals in 87 matches for Porto, 83 in 140 for Monaco, but saved the best for Atletico Madrid, with 70 goals in 91 games. His talent was also a prime reason that Colombia ended a 16-year wait to appear at the World Cup finals in 2014.

Summary of the top 5 greatest modern-day Atletico Madrid strikers

So that completes our list of top legendary Atletico strikers from the past 30 years, but what about the here and now? When it comes to clinical strikers in the current setup, there’s only one name on the lips of Atletico fans…

Will Antoine Griezmann be the La Liga top scorer in 2024/25?: Our prediction

As already shown, Antoine Griezmann is top of the club’s all-time goalscoring leaderboard and still extending the margin of his lead today, but even with a World Cup winner’s medal to his name, there’s still the sense that he could do more and widen his range of personal and club-level honours.

Indeed, he missed out on the Ballon d’Or back in 2018, with the popularity of Real Madrid ultimately being a crucial factor in handing the award to Luka Modric, despite him being on the losing side in that year’s World Cup final.

As for personal honours, Griezmann is yet to scoop the Pichichi Trophy (the La Liga top scorer award). Much of this is down to the incredible frontline Barcelona had during the latter half of the 2010s, with Lionel Messi winning it on five successive occasions.

As for Griezmann’s chances of winning it this season, they already look less than optimal, with the Frenchman entering October on just two La Liga goals – five behind the leading scorer Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona). We’re still yet to see the best of Kylian Mbappe too, even with Griezmann’s countryman already boasting a five-goal tally at the same point.

So the blunt verdict is that an injury-free Griezmann will end up netting something respectable, likely in the 15-20 region. But with Mbappe being supplied by the likes of Ballon d’Or contenders Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr, it’s hard to imagine that being anywhere near enough to win the top scorer award, assuming Lewandowski doesn’t simply blitz his way into an unassailable lead before Christmas.