| 678 games / 344 goals | TOTAL GAMES/GOALS | 435 games / 335 goals |
| 90 games / 33 goals | INTERNATIONAL GAMES/GOALS | 76 games /31 goals |
| 21 games / 12 goals | WORLD CUP GAMES/GOALS | 8 games / 1 goal |
| 6 games / 2 goals | EUROPEAN CUP/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GAMES/GOALS | 76 games / 58 goals |
| 1 World Cup 1 Argentine league 2 Italian leagues 1 Copa del Rey 1 Coppa Italia 1 Uefa Cup |
MAJOR TROPHIES | 5 Spanish leagues 2 Copa del Reys 3 Champions Leagues 2 Uefa Super Cups 2 Club World Cups |
Then there were those in the Maradona camp, including Messi’s former
coach Pep Guardiola, who said: “Maradona is the best I’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, one of the oracles of football journalism, Brian Glanville,
said last year that Messi still sits behind Maradona, Pele and Alfredo
Di Stefano.
There is no absolute barometer for measuring talent.
And with football a game of infinite variables, even the data isn’t
conclusive. Messi has crushed just about every goalscoring record
anyone’s even bothered to keep track of.
His current goals-to-game ratio far exceeds Maradona’s, while comparing the final list of medals at club level, it is certainly fair to argue Messi's achievements far outweigh those of 'El Diego', with five league championships and three Champions League titles to his name.
His current goals-to-game ratio far exceeds Maradona’s, while comparing the final list of medals at club level, it is certainly fair to argue Messi's achievements far outweigh those of 'El Diego', with five league championships and three Champions League titles to his name.
Meanwhile, Maradona earned just three league titles over the course of
his career, one with Boca Juniors, and then two with Napoli, along with
one Coppa Italia and a Uefa Cup victory.
Both played for Barcelona but then they were two very different Barcelonas. “Without Messi, [Barcelona] are still the best but with him they are from another galaxy,” said Germany sporting director Robin Dutt. The same cannot be said for the Barcelona side during Maradona’s short stay in Catalunya.
The ultimate test of any player is probably to what degree he improves those around them. Both Messi and Maradona undoubtedly did that, but in very different ways. “Maradona always took charge of the team,” Cesar Luis Menotti (who overlooked Maradona, then 17, for his Argentina squad that lifted the World Cup in 1978) told Telam last year. “Diego naturally took responsibility. Instead Messi plays a part, important though it is, in the operation of an orchestra as excellently tuned as Barcelona.”The Champions League is arguably the main competition where the world’s best congregate to test themselves against one another – a tournament in which Messi has the been the top scorer for the last four years running: an unprecedented record.
With the 25-year-old in a position to go on performing at this rate for another five to seven years, future generations are likely to rate him higher than Maradona. But should it matter? Both have captured our imaginations.“I was nine when we won the World Cup in 1986 and I still remember exactly where I was for each of those seven matches,” says Goal.com Argentina managing editor Sebastian Garcia.
“I remember who I hugged and with whom I cried. I remember how I felt before each match and I remember how special it was to go out on the streets to celebrate that there was no other nation better than us at football, and that nobody was fit to tie Diego's shoe laces … And now, every time I see Messi play, I feel like I'm nine again.”
Perhaps this is what really matters.
Both played for Barcelona but then they were two very different Barcelonas. “Without Messi, [Barcelona] are still the best but with him they are from another galaxy,” said Germany sporting director Robin Dutt. The same cannot be said for the Barcelona side during Maradona’s short stay in Catalunya.
The ultimate test of any player is probably to what degree he improves those around them. Both Messi and Maradona undoubtedly did that, but in very different ways. “Maradona always took charge of the team,” Cesar Luis Menotti (who overlooked Maradona, then 17, for his Argentina squad that lifted the World Cup in 1978) told Telam last year. “Diego naturally took responsibility. Instead Messi plays a part, important though it is, in the operation of an orchestra as excellently tuned as Barcelona.”The Champions League is arguably the main competition where the world’s best congregate to test themselves against one another – a tournament in which Messi has the been the top scorer for the last four years running: an unprecedented record.
With the 25-year-old in a position to go on performing at this rate for another five to seven years, future generations are likely to rate him higher than Maradona. But should it matter? Both have captured our imaginations.“I was nine when we won the World Cup in 1986 and I still remember exactly where I was for each of those seven matches,” says Goal.com Argentina managing editor Sebastian Garcia.
“I remember who I hugged and with whom I cried. I remember how I felt before each match and I remember how special it was to go out on the streets to celebrate that there was no other nation better than us at football, and that nobody was fit to tie Diego's shoe laces … And now, every time I see Messi play, I feel like I'm nine again.”
Perhaps this is what really matters.
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