Who is better, Lineker or Sammer?
Gary Lineker leads with a GOAT score of 83.9 against 83.9 for Matthias Sammer — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Gary Lineker and Matthias Sammer level at 83.9. Gary Lineker leads on Longevity, Statistics. Matthias Sammer leads on Honours, Dominance, Peak.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →Lineker wins: Longevity, Statistics
Sammer wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours
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Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Lineker leads in 2 of 5 weighted categories.
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏴 Lineker | 0 | 0 | 50 | 106 | 310 | 662 |
| 🇩🇪 Sammer | 0 | 0 | 50 | 104 | 293 | 607 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | LinekerRetired | SammerRetired |
|---|---|---|
| World Cup Golden Boot awards | 1 | — |
| England goals | 48 | — |
| Career league goals | 282 | — |
| Cup Winners' Cup titles | 1 | — |
| English top-scorer awards | 3 | — |
| European Championship titles | — | 1 |
| Ballon d'Or awards | — | 1 |
| Champions League titles | — | 1 |
| Bundesliga titles | — | 2 |
| Germany caps | — | 51 |
| Dominance w25% | 80 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 94 |
| Longevity w20% | 78 | 72 |
| Honours w20% | 82 | 88 |
| Statistics w15% | 90 | 84 |
Gary Lineker leads with a GOAT score of 83.9 against 83.9 for Matthias Sammer — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
Sammer scores higher on peak, dominance, honours. Lineker leads on statistics, longevity.
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Lineker: 83.9, Sammer: 83.9.
Make your case for Lineker vs Sammer. 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.