Category profile
- Dominance
- 80
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 78
- Honours
- 82
- Statistics
- 90
Career timeline · Goals per season
| Season | Goals per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 50 | |
| 1979 | 56 | |
| 1980 | 62 | |
| 1981 | 68 | |
| 1982 | 74 | |
| 1983 | 79 | |
| 1984 | 85 | |
| 1985 | 91 | |
| 1986 | 97 | |
| 1987 | 89 | |
| 1988 | 82 | |
| 1989 | 74 | |
| 1990 | 66 | |
| 1991 | 58 | |
| 1992 | 51 | |
| 1993 | 43 | |
| 1994 | 35 |
Data sources
- FIFA official records
- UEFA competition archives
- National federation and club records
Figures come from public records and are normalised per sport. See the methodology for category weights. Method
Why Gary Lineker ranks #257 in Football
Gary Lineker ranks 257th among Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 570th of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 83.9 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 80, Peak 92, Longevity 78, Honours 82, Statistics 90. Those categories are normalised against the full Football reference universe of 895 records, not a shortlist, so the position reflects the whole sport rather than a handful of famous names.
The record covers 1978–1994 with 17 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1986, which sets the Peak component at 92. Peak is the defining strength of the profile at 92 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes world cup golden boot awards 1, england goals 48, career league goals 282, cup winners' cup titles 1.
Immediately ahead sits Matthias Sammer on 83.9, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Careca on 83.9. The position moves whenever the verified record moves: new titles, new seasons or a corrected source all feed straight back into the same formula, and every change is dated on this profile.
Gary Lineker GOAT Score explained
- Dominance80/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Lineker stood above the field while competing. Scored 80/100 against the full Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1986. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity78/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 16 years of competition and 17 recorded seasons. Scored 78/100.
- Honours82/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 82/100.
- Statistics90/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 90/100.
Top Lineker comparisons
Gary Lineker — frequently asked
- Is Gary Lineker the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Gary Lineker ranks 257th in Football with a GOAT Score of 83.9, behind Lionel Messi on 97.0.
- What is Gary Lineker's GOAT Score?
- 83.9 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 80 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 78 (20%), Honours 82 (20%), Statistics 90 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Gary Lineker rank all time?
- 570th of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 257th within Football.
- Gary Lineker vs Matthias Sammer: who ranks higher?
- Gary Lineker, on 83.9 against Matthias Sammer's 83.9 — a margin of 0.0 points.