Long before the debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi the greatest soccer player to ever exist, there was and still is a comparison between Pele and Diego Maradona’s legacy.
Pele and Maradona didn’t play in the same timeline, and for that reason, they were never direct rivals. The legendary Brazilian dominated the era from 1950 to 1970 in the famous Brazilian side. He was the star-man in the star-studded Santos club. Maradona played in the 1980’s Argentina and revolutionized the Albiceleste’s legacy in world soccer.
At this moment, the soccer world has lost both Diego Maradona and Pele. The Argentine magician passed away at the age of 59, on November 25th, 2020. He had a few critical surgeries and the post-surgery complications were too much for his frail body.
The Brazilian goal-machine Pele passed away on 29th December 2022, aged 82. Pele was battling colon cancer for the past year. The extensive spread of cancerous cells and the ineffectiveness of chemotherapy saw him pass away peacefully at the end. Although they weren’t contemporary in their playing periods, the comparisons never stopped. To this date, there is a question about who has left a bigger legacy in this beautiful game.
Pele vs Maradona: Who has more goals?
Goals in soccer win you matches, so it is a very important aspect to judge legacies between soccer players. Pele is the highest goal scorer in the history of the sport with 1281 goals scored in 1363 games. Whereas, Maradona has 356 goals in 679 appearances.
Pele and Maradona are two different types of players. Pele played as a traditional striker whereas Maradona used to drop deep into the attacking midfield role to create chances for his teammates. Pele played his club football mostly in Santos. Later on, he moved to the North American club New York Cosmos. Maradona although, played in European Elite clubs like Napoli and Barcelona. He played in Argentina with Boca Juniors as well.
Who won more World Cups?
In terms of winning World Cup trophies, Pele is a clear winner here with 3 back-to-back World Cup trophies from 1958-1970. However, Pele played in the greatest ever International team, the mid-1900s star-studded, Brazil. Pele played in 14 World Cup matches and scored 12 tournament goals.
Maradona also played in four World Cup campaigns with Argentina and arguably won the 1986 World Cup by himself. His sensational goal against England is considered one of the greatest goals to be scored in history. Maradona also played in the 1990 World Cup final, but couldn’t win it. Maradona from a deeper role has scored 8 goals in 21 matches.
Pele vs Maradona: Net worth
Pele was one of the most marketable faces in soccer. Even though he played in a much different time, where the wages were much lower and the electric media was non-existent, Pele was the highest-paid player of his generation. At the time of death, Pele’s net worth is around a whopping $100 million.
Maradona earned almost $50 million in his lifetime from contracts and brand deals in his lifetime. His unruly lifestyle and some financial fair plays botched his net worth down drastically. Maradona was valued at only around $100 thousand at the time of his death.
Who has the bigger legacy?
Goals, trophies, individual awards, and net worth are standard parameters to compare two greats of the game. However, stats are numbers, which sometimes may not justify comparison to its fullest.
Pele played in a Brazilian team that was almost unbeatable by any opponent at that time. On the other hand, Maradona was seen as the carrier of the Argentine side. His ‘Hand of God’ goal against England is one of the most controversial yet iconic moments in the sport.
“One day, I hope we can play football together in the sky” – Pele’s message after Diego Maradona died in 2020.
Enjoy your game, legends 🙏 pic.twitter.com/t0l88bpILD
— GOAL (@goal) December 29, 2022
There is no clear answer to who has the bigger legacy between these two. All we can do is appreciate their enormous contributions to the beautiful game and hope that they will meet in heaven and play soccer together, far from our human eyes.