Who is better, Rakitić or Messi?
Lionel Messi leads with a GOAT score of 97.0 against 88.2 for Ivan Rakitić — a gap of 8.8 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Rakitić vs Messi
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GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
MessiWinner
97.0Messi wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Rakitić
88.2Rakitić wins: no category outright
Candidates
Locked to FootballShareable URL · /compare/ivan-rakitic-vs-messi
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇦🇷 Lionel Messi
97.0
Messi leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Lionel Messi
2. Ivan Rakitić
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. 🇦🇷 Lionel Messi79 goals
4 seasons by age 21 · 19.8 per season
Setting the pace at age 21
2. 🇭🇷 Ivan Rakitić15 goals
4 seasons by age 21 · 3.8 per season
Rakitić is -81.0% behind Messi'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 | RakitićActive | MessiActive · Inter Miami CF |
|---|---|---|
| Champions League titles | 1 | 4 |
| Europa League titles | 2 | — |
| La Liga titles | 4 | — |
| Croatia caps | 106 | — |
| Croatian Footballer of the Year | 1 | — |
| Career goals | — | 879 |
| Career assists | — | 383 |
| Ballon d'Or | — | 8 |
| World Cups | — | 1 |
| League titles | — | 12 |
| Goals per 90 | — | 0.79 |
| Dominance w25% | 85 | 98 |
| Peak w20% | 90 | 99 |
| Longevity w20% | 88 | 92 |
| Honours w20% | 92 | 97 |
| Statistics w15% | 86 | 99 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Messi97.0
Rakitić88.2
FAQ
Where does Rakitić beat Messi?
Rakitić does not lead any of the five categories; Messi is ahead or level on all of them.
How is the Rakitić vs Messi score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Rakitić: 88.2, Messi: 97.0.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Rakitić vs Messi. 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.