Who is better, Iniesta or Maldini?
Andrés Iniesta leads with a GOAT score of 88.8 against 88.8 for Paolo Maldini — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Iniesta vs Maldini
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Andrés Iniesta and Paolo Maldini level at 88.8. Andrés Iniesta leads on Peak, Honours, Dominance. Paolo Maldini leads on Longevity.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
IniestaWinner
88.8Iniesta wins: Dominance, Peak, Honours, Statistics
Maldini
88.8Maldini wins: Longevity
Candidates
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Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇪🇸 Andrés Iniesta
88.8
Iniesta leads in 4 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Andrés Iniesta
2. Paolo Maldini
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇮🇹 Paolo Maldini5 seasons played · career day 2,191188 goals
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇪🇸 Andrés Iniesta5 seasons played · career day 2,556156 goals
-17.0% vs Maldini at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇪🇸 Iniesta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 238 |
| 🇮🇹 Maldini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 106 | 308 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | IniestaRetired | MaldiniRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Appearances | 900 | 902 |
| Champions League titles | 4 | 5 |
| League titles | 9 | — |
| World Cups | 1 | — |
| European Championships | 2 | — |
| Career assists | 216 | — |
| Serie A titles | — | 7 |
| International caps | — | 126 |
| Champions League appearances | — | 174 |
| Career goals | — | 40 |
| Dominance w25% | 88 | 87 |
| Peak w20% | 91 | 87 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 96 |
| Honours w20% | 91 | 89 |
| Statistics w15% | 85 | 84 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Iniesta88.8
Maldini88.8
FAQ
Where does Maldini beat Iniesta?
Maldini scores higher on longevity. Iniesta leads on peak, dominance, honours, statistics.
How is the Iniesta vs Maldini score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Iniesta: 88.8, Maldini: 88.8.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Iniesta vs Maldini. 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.