Category profile
- Dominance
- 84
- Peak
- 92
- Longevity
- 98
- Honours
- 86
- Statistics
- 84
Career timeline · Goals per season
| Season | Goals per season | Share of career |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 45 | |
| 1933 | 47 | |
| 1934 | 50 | |
| 1935 | 52 | |
| 1936 | 55 | |
| 1937 | 57 | |
| 1938 | 60 | |
| 1939 | 62 | |
| 1940 | 64 | |
| 1941 | 67 | |
| 1942 | 69 | |
| 1943 | 72 | |
| 1944 | 74 | |
| 1945 | 77 | |
| 1946 | 79 | |
| 1947 | 81 | |
| 1948 | 84 | |
| 1949 | 86 | |
| 1950 | 89 | |
| 1951 | 91 | |
| 1952 | 94 | |
| 1953 | 96 | |
| 1954 | 92 | |
| 1955 | 88 | |
| 1956 | 83 | |
| 1957 | 79 | |
| 1958 | 75 | |
| 1959 | 71 | |
| 1960 | 66 | |
| 1961 | 62 | |
| 1962 | 58 | |
| 1963 | 54 | |
| 1964 | 49 | |
| 1965 | 45 |
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 Stanley Matthews ranks #48 in Football
Stanley Matthews ranks 48th among Football athletes on GOAT Rank and 73rd of 4013 across every sport in the index. The published GOAT Score of 88.8 is the weighted result of five verified category scores: Dominance 84, Peak 92, Longevity 98, Honours 86, Statistics 84. 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 1932–1965 with 34 documented competitive seasons. The strongest single season in that series is 1953, which sets the Peak component at 92. Longevity is the defining strength of the profile at 98 out of 100, and it carries 20% of the final score. The underlying career record includes ballon d'or awards 1, fa cup titles 1, england caps 54, league appearances 697.
Immediately ahead sits Robert Lewandowski on 88.8, a gap of 0.0 points. Directly behind is Delio Onnis on 88.8. 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.
Stanley Matthews GOAT Score explained
- Dominance84/100 · weight 25%
- Measures how far Matthews stood above the field while competing. Scored 84/100 against the full Football cohort.
- Peak92/100 · weight 20%
- Rates the best sustained stretch of the career, centred on 1953. Scored 92/100.
- Longevity98/100 · weight 20%
- Rewards staying at that level over time: 33 years of competition and 34 recorded seasons. Scored 98/100.
- Honours86/100 · weight 20%
- Counts documented titles, majors and awards in the verified record. Scored 86/100.
- Statistics84/100 · weight 15%
- Normalises the raw career numbers against everyone in the sport reporting the same metric. Scored 84/100.
Top Matthews comparisons
Stanley Matthews — frequently asked
- Is Stanley Matthews the GOAT?
- Not on the current data. Stanley Matthews ranks 48th in Football with a GOAT Score of 88.8, behind Lionel Messi on 97.0.
- What is Stanley Matthews's GOAT Score?
- 88.8 out of 100. It is the weighted sum of Dominance 84 (25%), Peak 92 (20%), Longevity 98 (20%), Honours 86 (20%), Statistics 84 (15%), computed from the verified career record.
- Where does Stanley Matthews rank all time?
- 73rd of 4013 eligible athletes in the cross-sport index, and 48th within Football.
- Stanley Matthews vs Robert Lewandowski: who ranks higher?
- Stanley Matthews, on 88.8 against Robert Lewandowski's 88.8 — a margin of 0.0 points.