Lineker vs Pelé
Shareable comparison — send this exact matchup to anyone.
Pelé wins: Dominance, Peak, Longevity, Honours, Statistics
Lineker wins: no category outright
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Pelé leads in 5 of 5 weighted categories. Three World Cups, an unmatched international résumé.
Lineker — Insufficient verified career data to calculate a reliable GOAT Score.
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
Setting the pace at age 21
No verified birth date for Lineker — 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 | LinekerActive | PeléRetired · New York Cosmos |
|---|---|---|
| English Football Hall of Fame | 1 | — |
| James Joyce Awards | 1 | — |
| Officer of the Order of the British Empire | 1 | — |
| Manuel Vázquez Montalbán Award for Sports Journalism | 1 | — |
| Career goals | — | 767 |
| Career assists | — | 229 |
| Ballon d'Or | — | 0 |
| World Cups | — | 3 |
| Champions League titles | — | 0 |
| League titles | — | 10 |
| Goals per 90 | — | 0.84 |
| Dominance w25% | 18.9 | 96 |
| Peak w20% | 20.9 | 97 |
| Longevity w20% | 16.9 | 90 |
| Honours w20% | 19.9 | 95 |
| Statistics w15% | 17.9 | 92 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Lineker vs Pelé. 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.