2

GOAT debate

According to the GOAT debate Pele was unproven against European clubs, yet in the Intercontinental cup Pele scored two goals in the 1962 Intercontinental Cup first leg at home to European champions S. L. Benfica. In the second leg he hit a hat-trick on Benfica's home turf taking his tally to five goals in two games against the European cup winners.

In the first leg of the 1963 Intercontinental Cup Pele scored another two goals on European cup winners A. C. Milan's home turf, though he did not score anymore in the return leg nor replay, taking his total to seven goals in five games against European cup winners.

Pele also failed to score in the 1968 Intercontinental Cup final against Inter Milan, making his total against European cup winners only seven in six games.

Pele also scored a single goal against arguably the greatest team in the world at the time, Real Madrid, on Real's home turf, making his total against European cup winners eight goals in seven games.

Question

So my question is, for those interested in the notable GOAT debate that argue that Pele never proved himself against the best sides in Europe, how many goals have his GOAT competitors, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo & Diego Maradona each scored against European cup winners (UEFA Champions League) and is their goal per game ratio against European cup winners (Champions League) better than Pele's?

P.S

It only applies to the following:

(a) games against whoever were current European cup/Champions League winners at the time of game being played.

(b) games against whichever team went on to win the European cup/Champions League the same season the game was played.

(c) In the instance that the team they played for won the European cup/Champions League, then I will accept games against the runners up, from either season cup was won, or season following.

This is not an easy one and will require a lot of researching and going through the players fixture lists, but there is 50 bonus points available for whoever proves that Pele is or is not the GOAT when it comes to goals per game against european cup/champions league winners/elite european clubs.

Also there were a couple of seasons when Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid in the final. For those seasons Atletico Madrid count as european cup winners from Cristiano Ronaldo's perspective, but for Lionel Messi, Real Madrid are the european cup winners.

1 Answer 1

3

Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona scored five goals in eleven games against european cup winners. His goal per game ratio is less than half that of Pele.

  • 23 December 1984. Juventus 2–0 Napoli. P1 G0
  • 5 May 1985. Napoli 0–0 Juventus. P2 G0
  • 3 November 1985. Napoli 1–0 Juventus. (Maradona) P3 G1
  • 9 March 1986. Juventus 1–1 Napoli. P4 G1
  • 27 November 1988. Napoli 4–1 Milan. (Maradona 1) P5 G2
  • 9 April 1989. Milan 0–0 Napoli. P6 G2
  • 1 October 1989. Napoli 3–0 Milan. (Maradona 1) P7 G3
  • 11 February 1990. Milan 3–0 Napoli. P8 G3
  • 14 February 1990. Napoli 1-3 Milan. (Maradona) P9 G4
  • 21 October 1990. Napoli 1–1 Milan. (Maradona) P10 G5
  • 3 March 1991. Milan 4–1 Napoli. P11 G5

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has a goal per game ratio nowhere near Pele, though slightly better than Diego Maradona, with twenty seven goals in fifty two games.

  • 25 February 2004. Porto 2-1 Man U. P1 G0
  • 9 March 2004. Man U 1-1 Porto. P2 G0
  • 20 September 2004. Man U 2-1 Liverpool. P3 G0
  • 15 January 2005. Liverpool 0-1 Man U. P4 G0
  • 18 September 2005. Liverpool 0–0 Man U. P5 G0
  • 22 January 2006. Man U 1-0 Liverpool. P6 G0
  • 18 February 2006. Liverpool 1-0 Man U. P7 G0
  • 24 April 2007. Man U 3-2 Milan. (Ronaldo 1) P8 G1
  • 2 May 2007. Milan 3-0 Man U. P9 G1
  • 23 September 2007. Man U 2-0 Chelsea. P10 G1
  • 26 April 2008. Chelsea 2-1 Man U. P11 G1
  • 21 May 2008. Chelsea 1–1 Man U. (Ronaldo) P12 G2
  • 21 September 2008. Chelsea 1–1 Man U. P13 G2
  • 11 January 2009. Man U 3–0 Chelsea. P14 G2
  • 27 May 2009. Barcelona 2-0 Man U. P15 G2
  • 29 November 2009. Barcelona 1–0 Real Madrid. P16 G2
  • 10 April 2010. Real Madrid 0–2 Barcelona. P17 G2
  • 29 November 2010. Barcelona 5–0 Real Madrid. P18 G2
  • 16 April 2011. Real Madrid 1–1 Barcelona. (Ronaldo) P19 G3
  • 20 April 2011. Barcelona 0–1 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo) P20 G4
  • 27 April 2011. Real Madrid. 0–2 Barcelona. P21 G4
  • 3 May 2011. Barcelona 1–1 Real Madrid. P22 G4
  • 10 December 2011. Real Madrid 1–3 Barcelona. P23 G4
  • 21 April 2012. Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo) P24 G5
  • 18 January 2012. Real Madrid 1–2 Barcelona. (Ronaldo) P25 G6
  • 25 January 2012. Barcelona 2–2 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 2) P26 G8
  • 28 September 2013. Real Madrid 0–1 Atlético Madrid. P27 G8
  • 2 March 2014. Atlético Madrid 2–2 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 1) P28 G9
  • 5 February 2014. Real Madrid 3–0 Atlético Madrid. P29 G9
  • 11 February 2014. Atlético Madrid 0–2 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 2) P30 G11
  • 23 April 2014. Real Madrid 1–0 Bayern Munich. P31 G11
  • 29 April 2014. Bayern Munich Germany 0–4 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 2) P32 G13
  • 24 May 2014. Real Madrid 4–1 Atlético Madrid. (Ronaldo 1) P33 G14
  • 13 September 2014. Real Madrid 1–2 Atlético Madrid. (Ronaldo) P34 G15
  • 25 October 2014. Real Madrid 3–1 Barcelona. (Ronaldo 1) P35 G16
  • 7 February 2015. Atlético Madrid 4–0 Real Madrid. P36 G16
  • 22 March 2015. Barcelona 2–1 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo) P37 G17
  • 7 January 2015. Atlético Madrid 2–0 Real Madrid. P38 G17
  • 15 January 2015. Real Madrid 2–2 Atlético Madrid. (Ronaldo 1) P39 G18
  • 14 April 2015. Atlético Madrid 0–0 Real Madrid. P40 G18
  • 22 April 2015. Real Madrid 1–0 Atlético Madrid. P41 G18
  • 4 October 2015. Atlético Madrid 1–1 Real Madrid. P42 G18
  • 21 November 2015. Real Madrid 0–4 Barcelona. P43 G18
  • 27 February 2016. Real Madrid 0–1 Atlético Madrid. P44 G18
  • 2 April 2016. Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 1) P45 G19
  • 28 May 2016. Real Madrid 1–1 Atlético Madrid. P46 G19
  • 19 November 2016. Atlético Madrid 0–3 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 3) P47 G22
  • 8 April 2017. Real Madrid 1–1 Atlético Madrid. P48 G22
  • 3 June 2017. Juventus 1–4 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 2) P49 G24
  • 3 April 2018. Juventus. 0–3 Real Madrid. (Ronaldo 2) P50 G26
  • 11 April 2018. Real Madrid 1–3 Juventus. (Ronaldo) P51 G27
  • 26 May 2018. Real Madrid 3–1 Liverpool. P52 G27

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has the worst return of all four, and does not appear on the same planet as Pele nor Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to goals against the elite, with only eleven goals in thirty two games.

  • 17 May 2006. Barcelona 2–1 Arsenal. P1 G0
  • 23 April 2008. Barcelona 0-0 Manchester United. P2 G0
  • 29 April 2008. Manchester United 1-0 Barcelona. P3 G0
  • 27 May 2009. Barcelona 2–0 Manchester United. (Messi 1) P4 G1
  • 16 September 2009. Inter Milan 0–0 Barcelona. P5 G1
  • 24 November 2009. Barcelona 2–0 Inter Milan. P6 G1
  • 20 April 2010. Inter Milan 3–1 Barcelona. P7 G1
  • 28 April 2010. Barcelona 1–0 Inter Milan. P8 G1
  • 28 May 2011. Barcelona 3–1 Manchester United. (Messi 1) P9 G2
  • 18 April 2012. Chelsea 1–0 Barcelona. P10 G2
  • 24 April 2012. Barcelona 2–2 Chelsea. P11 G2
  • 23 April 2013. Bayern Munich 4–0 Barcelona. P12 G2
  • 1 May 2013. Barcelona 0–3 Bayern Munich. P13 G2
  • 26 October 2013. Barcelona 2–1 Real Madrid. P14 G2
  • 23 March 2014. Real Madrid 3–4 Barcelona. (Messi 3) P15 G5
  • 16 April 2014. Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid. P16 G5
  • 25 October 2014. Real Madrid 3–1 Barcelona. P17 G5
  • 22 March 2015. Barcelona 2–1 Real Madrid. P18 G5
  • 6 June 2015. Juventus 1–3 Barcelona. P19 G5
  • 21 November 2015. Real Madrid 0–4 Barcelona. P20 G5
  • 2 April 2016 Barcelona 1–2 Real Madrid. P21 G5
  • 3 December 2016. Barcelona 1–1 Real Madrid. P22 G5
  • 23 April 2017. Real Madrid 2–3 Barcelona. (Messi 2) P23 G7
  • 23 December 2017. Real Madrid 0–3 Barcelona. (Messi 1) P24 G8
  • 6 May 2018. Barcelona 2–2 Real Madrid. (Messi 1) P25 G9
  • 28 October 2018. Barcelona 5–1 Real Madrid. P26 G9
  • 2 March 2019. Real Madrid 0–1 Barcelona. P27 G9
  • 6 February 2019. Barcelona 1–1 Real Madrid. P28 G9
  • 27 February 2019. Real Madrid 0–3 Barcelona. P29 G9
  • 1 May 2019. Barcelona 3–0 Liverpool. (Messi 2) P30 G11
  • 7 May 2019. Liverpool 4–0 Barcelona. P31 G11
  • 14 August 2020. Barcelona 2–8 Bayern Munich. P32 G11

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.