Diego Maradona and Pele Are regarded as two of the all-time greats in football—but when we compare their tally of goals and assists, how do they measure up against each other?

The two icons have long established the standard for genuine excellence in soccer—a level of play that modern athletes such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Kylian Mbappé aspire to reach.

We've dissected the statistics surrounding Pelé and Maradona's legendary football careers:

Pele’s career stats

Pele's career extended far back, many years before the era of thoroughly documented statistics. FBref s and WhoScored s.

Forget Expected Goals entirely. Passing accuracy? Not happening.

If you're fortunate, you'll receive both goals and playing time, though these can often spark intense debates.

Despite this, Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to mock Pelé’s contested scoring record with a sarcastic remark along the lines of "the only difference is that all my goals come with video evidence," following his declaration about aiming for 1000 goals.

However, exactly how many goals did Pelé manage to score?

The highest number of goals scored within a specific time frame is: 1,279 goals As stated by Edson Arantes do Nascimento, widely recognized as Pelé, who played from September 7, 1956, until October 1, 1977, in a total of 1,363 matches," mentions the text. Guinness World Record , having awarded the renowned Brazilian forward the distinction of scoring the most officially recognized goals in football history.

His most successful year was 1959, during which he scored 126 goals. The milestone thousandth goal was awarded as a penalty while he played for Santos at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on November 19, 1969, in his 909th top-tier game. Later, he contributed two additional scores in exhibition matches.

Ronaldo may never surpass that record, but according to alternative sources, he has already surpassed Pelé’s officially recognized statistics.

The Zurich-based organization The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) states that Pelé officially recorded 762 goals Throughout his career from 1957 to 1977, he played 679 matches for various clubs (comprising 604 league games, 49 cup fixtures, and 26 international club encounters) as well as 84 times for the Brazilian national squad.

The IFFHS place Pele third in football’s all-time scoring charts, behind only Messi and Ronaldo.

Nevertheless, a differing figure is provided by another respected historical football statistics organization — the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). 778 goals officially recorded in 851 professional matches.

The RSSSF ranks Pelé as the 11th highest scorer in football history, trailing behind fellow Brazilian Romário and players such as Ferenc Puskás. less well-known, historically significant names you might be unfamiliar with .

And what about assists?

As one might expect, determining the exact number of Pelé's career assists becomes even murkier, yet various efforts have been undertaken to quantify them.

Twitter user @avisualgame , utilizing data gathered by @Trachta10 ,, compile a neat comparison chart indicating that Pelé recorded 367 assists across his 795 official career games.

As we have stated before, these figures should be viewed critically and taken with a grain of salt. However, based on this particular method, the Brazilian legend surpasses all players in football history when considering goals and assists per 90 minutes played.

Diego Maradona’s career stats

Diego's position among the greatest players in football history is not primarily determined by statistics alone.

You will likely be quite disappointed if you seek stats for goals and assists that come close to matching those of Pelé, Messi, or Ronaldo.

Maradona is often celebrated in almost mythological terms due to the divine heights he achieved with Argentina—especially during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico—and because of his pivotal part in Naples' historic Serie A triumphs in the seasons 1986-87 and 1989-90.

Speak with anybody who saw Maradona at the height of his career, and they'll likely attest that they've never witnessed a more gifted soccer player.

What about Maradona’s statistics?

Although not reaching the same level as Pele or Messi, due to shorter careers perhaps, they are still remarkably exceptional.

Emerging initially at the age of 16 during the latter part of Pelé’s career in the U.S., there is more accessible information about the Argentine player.

Before scoring 28 goals in 40 matches during his initial tenure at Boca Juniors, Maradona netted an impressive 116 times in 166 games in Argentina’s top-flight league for his hometown team, Argentinos Juniors.

Before joining Barcelona, he netted 38 goals in 58 matches. At Naples, he went on to score an impressive 115 goals in 259 outings across all competitions throughout his remarkable seven-year tenure with the club.

Recently, he wrapped up his career with 14 goals in 66 matches during stints at Sevilla, Newell’s Old Boys, and a second tenure with Boca Juniors.

He netted 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina’s national team.

All together, this adds up to 345 career goals At an advanced stage with 680 total appearances for both club and nation.

Historical stats collator @Trachta10 varies slightly in the overall number of goals – with one less, totaling 344 (including 88 penalties, 59 free-kicks, and 24 headers) – as well 206 assists .

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