Diego Maradona vs Hernán Crespo: Stats Compared
Forward / Playmaker, Argentina (born 1960, retired 1997) · Striker, Argentina (born 1975, retired 2012)
Put Diego Maradona and Hernán Crespo side by side and you have a genuine generational conversation. Honours are what separate great players from trophy-laden legends, and both qualify. Diego Maradona finishes with 293 career goals from 582 games — a 0.50 strike rate — against Hernán Crespo's 248 from 567 at 0.44 per match. Reliable assist tallies simply do not exist for large stretches of their careers, leaving creativity to the eye rather than the spreadsheet. The honours ledger favours Diego Maradona with 6 major trophies (1× FIFA World Cup (1986)) against Hernán Crespo's 7 (3× Serie A (2006, 2007, 2008)). One lifted trophies through ruthless reliability, the other through clinical moments that decided finals. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Diego Maradona's landmark level arrived around 1986 with a career spanning Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys; Hernán Crespo's came around 2000 across River Plate, Parma, Lazio, Inter Milan, Chelsea, AC Milan, Genoa. Whichever side you land on, both belong in any conversation about the finest of their generation.
175 words · comparison angle: trophies
Player profiles
Argentine legend who almost single-handedly led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup and transformed Napoli into Italian and European contenders.
“A low-centre-of-gravity left-footed genius whose dribbling and playmaking carried teams single-handedly.”
Argentine striker and one of the most expensive players of his era; Serie A winner with Inter Milan.
“A predatory finisher with sharp movement and clinical anticipation inside the box.”
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× FIFA World Cup (1986)
- 1× UEFA Cup (1989)
- 2× Serie A (1987, 1990)
- 1× Copa Italia (1987)
- 1× Argentine Primera División (1981)
- 3× Serie A (2006, 2007, 2008)
- 1× Premier League (2005)
- 1× UEFA Cup (1999)
- 1× Coppa Italia (1999)
- 1× Supercoppa Italiana (1999)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1976 Argentinos Juniors debut ten days before his 16th birthday
- 1981 Joined Boca Juniors and won the Argentine league
- 1982 World-record transfer to Barcelona
- 1984 Signed for Napoli for another world-record fee
- 1987 Led Napoli to their first ever Serie A title
- 1990 Captained Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup final
- 1997 Played his final professional matches at Boca Juniors
- 1993 River Plate debut
- 1996 Olympic silver medal with Argentina
- 1996 Joined Parma for a record fee
- 2000 Joined Lazio for a world-record striker fee
- 2003 Joined Chelsea for £16.8m
- 2004 Loan to AC Milan, scored in the Champions League final
- 2012 Retired at Parma
The verdict
The numbers give Diego Maradona the lead — a clear margin, courtesy of a sharper goalscoring record.
Diego Maradona edges it (a clear margin)
