Who is the greatest player of all time?

With 11 Ballon d’Or wins between them, fans will look to either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.

While Ronaldo has the advantage of achieving success for a number of different clubs in different countries and has led his country to glory, Messi leads 6-5 on the Ballon d’Or count.

And for that reason, he’s widely regarded as the GOAT.

However, football is a game of opinions and some fans don’t even think Messi is Argentina’s greatest ever player, let alone football’s greatest ever player.

So, let’s settle it.

Recently, we brought you a FIFA 20 stats comparison to declare the best Ronaldo - Cristiano or Nazario.

The Ronaldo debate was won by the original Ronaldo but who will win the Argentinian debate?

We took Messi's 94-rated base card in FIFA Ultimate Team and matched it up with Maradona's 95-rated icon card using Futhead.

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In the 29 in-game attributes, we give one point to whichever player is superior while they both pick up 0.5 if it’s a tie.

Let’s take a look:

  • Acceleration: Diego Maradona (91) vs Lionel Messi (91) -- tied
  • Sprint speed: Diego Maradona (85) vs Lionel Messi (84) -- Maradona
  • Positioning: Diego Maradona (92) vs Lionel Messi (94) -- Messi
  • Finishing: Diego Maradona (94) vs Lionel Messi (95) -- Messi
  • Shot power: Diego Maradona (83) vs Lionel Messi (86) -- Messi
  • Long shots: Diego Maradona (91) vs Lionel Messi (94) -- Messi
  • Volleys: Diego Maradona (86) vs Lionel Messi (88) -- Messi
  • Penalties: Diego Maradona (92) vs Lionel Messi (75) -- Maradona
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  • Vision: Diego Maradona (95) vs Lionel Messi (94) -- Maradona
  • Crossing: Diego Maradona (87) vs Lionel Messi (88) -- Messi
  • Free-kick accuracy: Diego Maradona (93) vs Lionel Messi (94) -- Messi
  • Short passing: Diego Maradona (90) vs Lionel Messi (92) -- Messi
  • Long passing: Diego Maradona (87) vs Lionel Messi (92) -- Messi
  • Curve: Diego Maradona (94) vs Lionel Messi (93) -- Maradona
  • Agility: Diego Maradona (89) vs Lionel Messi (93) -- Messi
  • Balance: Diego Maradona (98) vs Lionel Messi (95) -- Maradona
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  • Reactions: Diego Maradona (93) vs Lionel Messi (95) -- Messi
  • Ball control: Diego Maradona (95) vs Lionel Messi (96) -- Messi
  • Dribbling: Diego Maradona (96) vs Lionel Messi (97) -- Messi
  • Composure: Diego Maradona (95) vs Lionel Messi (96) -- Messi
  • Interceptions: Diego Maradona (46) vs Lionel Messi (40) -- Maradona
  • Heading accuracy: Diego Maradona (67) vs Lionel Messi (70) -- Messi
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  • Defence awareness: Diego Maradona (30) vs Lionel Messi (33) -- Messi
  • Sliding tackle: Diego Maradona (39) vs Lionel Messi (26) -- Maradona
  • Standing tackle: Diego Maradona (44) vs Lionel Messi (37) -- Maradona
  • Jumping: Diego Maradona (80) vs Lionel Messi (68) -- Maradona
  • Stamina: Diego Maradona (75) vs Lionel Messi (75) -- tied
  • Strength: Diego Maradona (74) vs Lionel Messi (68) -- Maradona
  • Aggression: Diego Maradona (76) vs Lionel Messi (48) -- Maradona
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Final score: Diego Maradona 12-17 Lionel Messi

So, Messi > Maradona.

It’s hard to disagree, isn’t it?

Ok, Maradona may have done it first and even led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 - something that Messi has failed to achieve during his incredible career.

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But Maradona failed to truly shine at Barcelona during his two seasons, managing 38 goals in 58 appearances. Of course, his seven years in Italy with Napoli were the stuff of legend as he led them to two Serie A titles. But off-field troubles curtailed his career as he retired with Boca Juniors.

As for Messi, his record of 627 goals in 718 appearances for Barcelona is just ridiculous. He’s won everything there is to win at club level and has wowed football fans for more than a decade with his ability.

There is obviously plenty of similarities between Messi and Maradona - not to mention Messi emulating Maradona’s famous goal against England with one of his own against Getafe - but it seems there’s a clear winner. Well, according to EA Sport boffins anyway…