Who is better, Carvajal or Pauleta?
Dani Carvajal leads with a GOAT score of 81.8 against 81.7 for Pauleta — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Carvajal vs Pauleta
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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
CarvajalWinner
81.8Carvajal wins: Dominance, Honours
Pauleta
81.7Pauleta wins: Peak, Longevity, Statistics
Candidates
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Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇪🇸 Dani Carvajal
81.8
Carvajal leads in 2 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Dani Carvajal
2. Pauleta
Category breakdown
Season form · Goals per season
Career timeline · Goals per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Through age 21 · Goals per season
1. 🇪🇸 Dani Carvajal4 goals
3 seasons by age 21 · 1.3 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Pauleta — shown in the pro-debut view instead.
Every career is cut at the season the athlete turned 21, so a rookie today is measured against exactly what a legend had banked by the same birthday.
| Metric | CarvajalActive | PauletaRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Champions League titles | 6 | — |
| La Liga titles | 4 | — |
| Spain caps | 51 | — |
| European Championship titles | 1 | — |
| Career league goals | 15 | — |
| Portugal goals | — | 47 |
| Ligue 1 top scorer awards | — | 2 |
| PSG goals | — | 109 |
| Career club goals | — | 300 |
| Portugal caps | — | 88 |
| Dominance w25% | 78 | 76 |
| Peak w20% | 85 | 86 |
| Longevity w20% | 78 | 82 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 78 |
| Statistics w15% | 75 | 90 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Carvajal81.8
Pauleta81.7
FAQ
Where does Pauleta beat Carvajal?
Pauleta scores higher on peak, statistics, longevity. Carvajal leads on dominance, honours.
How is the Carvajal vs Pauleta score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Carvajal: 81.8, Pauleta: 81.7.
What do you think?
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