Raúl vs Patrick Kluivert: Stats Compared
Striker, Spain (born 1977, retired 2015) · Striker, Netherlands (born 1976, retired 2008)
Line up Raúl next to Patrick Kluivert and the contrasts come quickly. Separated by their years at the top, each defined the football of their own generation. Career output puts Raúl at 432 goals in 1032 games, with Patrick Kluivert at 229 in 563. 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 Raúl with 16 major trophies (3× UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002)) against Patrick Kluivert's 8 (1× UEFA Champions League (1995)). Across the turn of the millennium and the 1990s respectively, their explosive and mercurial styles captured the spirit of very different footballing times. The wider career context matters too: Raúl peaked around 2002 after representing Real Madrid, Schalke 04, Al Sadd, New York Cosmos, while Patrick Kluivert's defining level came around 1999 across Ajax, Milan, Barcelona, Newcastle, Valencia, PSV. Greatness, in cases like this, is rarely a zero-sum affair.
160 words · comparison angle: era
Player profiles
Real Madrid legend who captained the club to three Champions League titles; held the all-time Champions League goals record before Messi and Ronaldo surpassed him.
“An intelligent, tireless forward whose movement off the ball created chances for himself and others.”
Patrick Stephan Kluivert is a Dutch football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a striker for Ajax, Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He was part of Ajax's Golden Generation of the 1990s, scoring the winner in the 1995 UEFA Champions League Final at the age of 18.
“A technically polished striker who linked play beautifully and finished with either foot.”
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
- 3× UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000, 2002)
- 6× La Liga
- 4× Supercopa de España
- 2× Intercontinental Cup (1998, 2002)
- 1× UEFA Super Cup (2002)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (1995)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1994 Real Madrid debut aged 17
- 1996 Won La Liga with Real Madrid
- 1998 Champions League winner at 20
- 2000 Champions League winner, top scorer in the tournament
- 2003 Became Real Madrid captain
- 2010 Left Real Madrid after 16 years at the club
- 2015 Retired at New York Cosmos
- 1991 Established himself at Ajax
- 1995 Reached his defining peak
- 1999 Delivered a landmark season
- 2008 Retired from professional football
The verdict
Reasonable people will disagree, but Raúl wins out by a decisive margin on the weight of a sharper goalscoring record.
Raúl edges it (a decisive margin)
