Who is better, Hughes or Xavi?
Emlyn Hughes leads with a GOAT score of 88.8 against 88.7 for Xavi Hernández — a gap of 0.1 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Hughes vs Xavi
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
HughesWinner
88.8Hughes wins: Honours
Xavi
88.7Xavi wins: Statistics
Candidates
Locked to FootballShareable URL · /compare/emlyn-hughes-vs-xavi
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🏴 Emlyn Hughes
88.8
Hughes leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Emlyn Hughes
2. Xavi Hernández
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. 🏴 Emlyn Hughes2 goals
3 seasons by age 21 · 0.7 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Xavi — 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 | HughesRetired | XaviRetired |
|---|---|---|
| First Division titles | 4 | — |
| European Cup titles | 2 | — |
| UEFA Cup titles | 2 | — |
| FA Cup titles | 1 | — |
| England caps | 62 | — |
| Appearances | — | 1,045 |
| Champions League titles | — | 4 |
| League titles | — | 8 |
| World Cups | — | 1 |
| European Championships | — | 2 |
| Career assists | — | 260 |
| Dominance w25% | 88 | 88 |
| Peak w20% | 90 | 90 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 88 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 91 |
| Statistics w15% | 85 | 86 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Hughes88.8
Xavi88.7
FAQ
Where does Xavi beat Hughes?
Xavi scores higher on statistics. Hughes leads on honours.
How is the Hughes vs Xavi score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Hughes: 88.8, Xavi: 88.7.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Hughes vs Xavi. 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.