Messi vs Maradona: Who's the greatest Argentinian footballer?
Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona are among the greatest players in football history. They played in different eras, on very different pitches and with significantly adapted rules. But the debate keeps resurfacing -- who is the greatest of all time?
Lionel Messi vs Diego Maradona
Messi has scored 11 goals in World Cups, with 5 goals in FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament. He scored his 11th goal in the semifinal match against Croatia
Lionel Messi's FIFA World Cup record
Diego Maradona's FIFA World Cup record
Diego Maradona scored 8 goals during his World Cup matches
Messi has amassed 96 international goals for his nation in 171 matches, whereas Maradona managed 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina
Messi vs Maradona: Total international goals
Messi has 8 assists for Argentina at the World Cups. Maradona too had 8 assists and was Argentina’s top assistor at the World Cups
Messi equals Maradona’s assists at world cups
Messi played more matches in the World Cups, 24 in total, while Maradona played 21 matches in all for Argentina
Messi vs Maradona: World Cup appearances
Messi vs Maradona: Club stats
Messi has made 853 appearances in comparison to Maradona’s 333 appearances. Messi scored 701 goals in total, whereas Maradona scored only 153 goals in his entire career
Messi vs Maradona: The club footballer
While Messi played as a forward for Grandoli, Newell's Old Boys, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain, Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys
Messi vs Maradona: Honours at World Cup
Maradona played at a time when FIFA did not accredit players with individual titles. Messi has won FIFA Ballon d'Or title seven times, last in 2021. Besides, Messi has won La Liga title 10 times
Argentina is through to FIFA World Cup final to be held in Qatar on Sunday, and Messi has the chance to lift the coveted FIFA trophy just as Maradona did back in 1986