Who is better, Mertens or Nani?
Dries Mertens leads with a GOAT score of 80.5 against 80.5 for Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Mertens vs Nani
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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
MertensWinner
80.5Mertens wins: Peak, Statistics
Nani
80.5Nani wins: Longevity, Honours
Candidates
Locked to FootballShareable URL · /compare/dries-mertens-vs-nani
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇧🇪 Dries Mertens
80.5
Mertens leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Dries Mertens
2. Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
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. 🇧🇪 Dries Mertens17 goals
3 seasons by age 21 · 5.7 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
2. 🇵🇹 Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha9 goals
2 seasons by age 21 · 4.5 per season
Nani is -47.1% behind Mertens's pace at age 21
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 | MertensRetired | NaniActive |
|---|---|---|
| Career league goals | 211 | — |
| Belgium caps | 109 | — |
| Napoli all-time top scorer | 1 | — |
| PSV goals | 37 | — |
| Super Lig titles | 1 | — |
| League goals | — | 129 |
| Portugal caps | — | 112 |
| Premier League titles | — | 4 |
| Champions League titles | — | 1 |
| Euro titles | — | 1 |
| Dominance w25% | 78 | 78 |
| Peak w20% | 85 | 82 |
| Longevity w20% | 82 | 85 |
| Honours w20% | 75 | 80 |
| Statistics w15% | 84 | 77 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Mertens80.5
Nani80.5
FAQ
Where does Nani beat Mertens?
Nani scores higher on honours, longevity. Mertens leads on peak, statistics.
How is the Mertens vs Nani score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Mertens: 80.5, Nani: 80.5.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Mertens vs Nani. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.