Diego Maradona vs Ivan Rakitić: Stats Compared
Forward / Playmaker, Argentina (born 1960, retired 1997) · Central Midfielder, Croatia (born 1988, retired 2023)
Put Diego Maradona and Ivan Rakitić side by side and you have a genuine generational conversation. They occupied different roles, which makes a like-for-like verdict a careful exercise. Across his senior career Diego Maradona notched 293 goals in 582 appearances (0.50 per game), while Ivan Rakitić recorded 90 in 700 (0.13 per game). Assists were not reliably tracked for much of their careers, which makes the playmaking comparison an imperfect one; where records exist, Diego Maradona is credited with 0 and Ivan Rakitić with 90. Trophy counts give Diego Maradona 6 and Ivan Rakitić 6, with 1× FIFA World Cup (1986) and 1× UEFA Champions League (2015) the standout honours respectively. The forward / playmaker duties of Diego Maradona leaned clinical; the central midfielder responsibilities of Ivan Rakitić leaned incisive. 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; Ivan Rakitić's came around 2015 across Basel, Schalke 04, Sevilla, Barcelona, Sevilla, Hajduk Split. Whichever side you land on, both belong in any conversation about the finest of their generation.
188 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.”
A key architect of Barcelona's 2015 treble and Croatia's run to the 2018 World Cup final, Rakitić combined tireless work rate with excellent passing range.
“A tireless, technically composed box-to-box midfielder whose range of passing linked defence and attack seamlessly.”
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)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (2015)
- 1× UEFA Europa League (2014)
- 4× La Liga (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019)
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
- 2005 Professional debut for Basel
- 2015 Won UEFA Champions League with Barcelona
- 2015 Won La Liga with Barcelona
- 2015 Reached the peak of his powers at Barcelona
- 2023 Retired after a final spell at Hajduk Split
- Finished his career with 90 goals in 700 appearances and 6 major honours. Finished his career with 90 goals in 700 appearances and 6 major honours.
The verdict
On balance Diego Maradona edges the comparison. The margin is a clear margin, decided mostly by a sharper goalscoring record.
Diego Maradona edges it (a clear margin)
