Diego Maradona vs Ferenc Puskás: Stats Compared
Forward / Playmaker, Argentina (born 1960, retired 1997) · Forward, Hungary (born 1927, retired 1966)
Put Diego Maradona and Ferenc Puskás side by side and you have a genuine generational conversation. Comparing across positions is never straightforward, and these two asked different questions of opponents. On production alone, Diego Maradona posted 293 goals across 582 appearances while Ferenc Puskás managed 598 across 621. 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. The honours ledger favours Diego Maradona with 6 major trophies (1× FIFA World Cup (1986)) against Ferenc Puskás's 10 (3× European Cup (1959, 1960, 1966)). As a forward / playmaker Diego Maradona bent the role to a flair-driven template; as a forward, Ferenc Puskás redefined it with flair-driven authority. Their routes to the top were distinct: Diego Maradona built his reputation across Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys, peaking around 1986, while Ferenc Puskás reached his defining level around 1960 after spells with Budapest Honvéd, Real Madrid. Picking between them says as much about the picker as the players.
177 words · comparison angle: role
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.”
Hungarian legend of the Magical Magyats and a Real Madrid galáctico; scorer of 84 goals in 85 games for Hungary.
“A barrel-chested left-footed finisher whose deadly striking powered Hungary's Golden Team.”
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× European Cup (1959, 1960, 1966)
- 5× La Liga
- 1× Olympic Gold Medal (1952)
- 1× Central European Cup (1953)
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
- 1943 Budapest Honvéd debut
- 1952 Olympic champion with Hungary
- 1953 Scored twice in the 6-3 win over England at Wembley
- 1956 Fled the Hungarian Revolution
- 1958 Joined Real Madrid
- 1960 Scored four goals in the European Cup final
- 1966 Retired from playing
The verdict
Reasonable people will disagree, but Ferenc Puskás wins out by a clear margin on the weight of a sharper goalscoring record.
Ferenc Puskás edges it (a clear margin)
