George Best vs Arjen Robben: Stats Compared
Winger / Forward, Northern Ireland (born 1946, retired 1984) · Right Winger, Netherlands (born 1984, retired 2019)
Put George Best and Arjen Robben side by side and you have a genuine generational conversation. Goals are the coldest, hardest metric in football, and both players stockedpile them. George Best finishes with 214 career goals from 616 games — a 0.35 strike rate — against Arjen Robben's 246 from 614 at 0.40 per match. Assists were never formally recorded across most of their eras, so the playmaking dimension has to be judged on reputation and highlights rather than hard totals. Trophy counts give George Best 5 and Arjen Robben 9, with 1× European Cup (1968) and 1× UEFA Champions League (2013) the standout honours respectively. Their finishing mirrored their personalities: George Best clinical, Arjen Robben explosive. Context beyond the headline totals is important: George Best's landmark level arrived around 1968 with a career spanning Manchester United, Fulham, others; Arjen Robben's came around 2013 across PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Groningen. Each, in his own way, set a standard the other is measured against.
165 words · comparison angle: goalscoring
Player profiles
Northern Irish winger and Manchester United icon; Ballon d'Or winner in 1968 after helping Manchester United win their first European Cup.
“A balance-perfect winger who combined dribbling flair with an eye for goal and a rock-star aura.”
Arjen Robben is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. Known for his dribbling skills, speed, and long-range shots, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers of all time. He ranks second for the all-time Dutch top goalscorers (32) in the UEFA Champions League and is the all-time Dutch top assist provider (19) in the competition.
“A devastating inverted winger whose cut inside and left-foot finish became a signature.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 1× European Cup (1968)
- 2× English First Division (1965, 1967)
- 2× FA Charity Shield (1965, 1967)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (2013)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1963 Manchester United debut aged 17
- 1965 First English First Division title
- 1968 European Cup winner and Ballon d'Or winner
- 1968 Joint top scorer in the First Division
- 1972 Brief retirement then return to Manchester United
- 1974 Left Manchester United
- 1984 Made final professional appearances in the United States
- 2005 Established himself at PSV
- 2009 Reached his defining peak
- 2013 Delivered a landmark season
- 2019 Retired from professional football
The verdict
Taking goals, assists, silverware and overall profile together, George Best takes it by a narrow margin.
George Best edges it (a narrow margin)
