Who is better, Nani or Mertens?
Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha leads with a GOAT score of 80.5 against 80.5 for Dries Mertens — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
AthletesTeams
Nani vs Mertens
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
NaniWinner
80.5Nani wins: Longevity, Honours
Mertens
80.5Mertens wins: Peak, Statistics
Candidates
Locked to FootballShareable URL · /compare/nani-vs-dries-mertens
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇵🇹 Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
80.5
Nani leads in 3 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha
2. Dries Mertens
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 | NaniActive | MertensRetired |
|---|---|---|
| League goals | 129 | — |
| Portugal caps | 112 | — |
| Premier League titles | 4 | — |
| Champions League titles | 1 | — |
| Euro titles | 1 | — |
| Career league goals | — | 211 |
| Belgium caps | — | 109 |
| Napoli all-time top scorer | — | 1 |
| PSV goals | — | 37 |
| Super Lig titles | — | 1 |
| Dominance w25% | 78 | 78 |
| Peak w20% | 82 | 85 |
| Longevity w20% | 85 | 82 |
| Honours w20% | 80 | 75 |
| Statistics w15% | 77 | 84 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Nani80.5
Mertens80.5
FAQ
Where does Mertens beat Nani?
Mertens scores higher on peak, statistics. Nani leads on honours, longevity.
How is the Nani vs Mertens score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Nani: 80.5, Mertens: 80.5.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Nani vs Mertens. 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.