Messi vs Maradona: Career & World Cup Stats
Compare Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona through career goals, appearances, trophies and World Cup records, with clear historical cutoffs and source notes.
10Messi × Maradona.
Compare what can be measured. Keep longevity, peak performance and missing historical data visible.
World Cup careers · shared cutoff: Qatar 2022
This fixed historical cutoff avoids mixing Messi’s later appearances with pre-2026 totals.
| Measure | Messi | Maradona |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 13 | 8 |
| Assists | 8 | 8 |
| Goals + assists | 21 | 16 |
| Appearances | 26 | 21 |
| Minutes (FIFA) | 2314 | 1938 |
| World Cup titles | 1 | 1 |
Per 90 = total × 90 ÷ minutes. Uses FIFA’s 1,938-minute figure for Maradona; other providers may differ. Shootout goals excluded. Equal assist totals do not imply equivalent chance creation.
Senior career totals
| Measure | Messi · imported snapshot | Maradona · completed career |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 1,178 | 680 |
| Goals | 932 | 345 |
| Goals / appearance | 0.79 | 0.51 |
| Assists | 426 | Not verified |
| Goals / 90 | 0.87 | Minutes not verified |
Senior club and country. Career totals from different sources are contextual rather than a harmonized event dataset.
Trophy cabinet · Messi through 2024, Maradona full career
| Team / category | Messi | Maradona |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 35 | 3 |
| Other senior clubs | 5 | 6 |
| Senior Argentina | 4 | 2 |
| Senior total | 44 | 11 |
| Youth / Olympics (separate) | 2 | 1 |
Messi: PSG 3, Miami 2; Argentina World Cup, two Copas América and Finalissima. Maradona: Boca 1, Napoli 5; World Cup and Artemio Franchi Cup. Youth totals include U20 World Cups; Messi also has Olympic gold. Later Messi trophies are excluded from this dated comparison.
Messi honours Maradona honoursBarcelona · completed careers
| Measure | Messi | Maradona |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 778 | 58 |
| Goals | 672 | 38 |
| Goals / appearance | 0.86 | 0.66 |
| Club trophies | 35 | 3 |
All-career data: the missing pieces
The imported Messi log contains 932 goals and 426 assists in 1,178 appearances.
A comparably complete, verified Maradona match log with assists and minutes has not been obtained. His lifetime assists and G+A per 90 remain unavailable here, rather than being estimated.
Different eras, roles, schedules and team strength affect every comparison. Ballon d’Or totals are excluded from this duel because non-European players were ineligible during most of Maradona’s career.
Messi career source