Miroslav Klose vs Per Mertesacker: Stats Compared
Striker, Germany (born 1978, retired 2016) · Centre-Back, Germany (born 1984, retired 2018)
Comparing Miroslav Klose with Per Mertesacker means weighing two very different kinds of greatness. Era matters in any comparison, and these two peaked under very different footballing conditions. Miroslav Klose finishes with 318 career goals from 705 games — a 0.45 strike rate — against Per Mertesacker's 15 from 550 at 0.03 per match. Assists were not reliably tracked for much of their careers, which makes the playmaking comparison an imperfect one; where records exist, Miroslav Klose is credited with 0 and Per Mertesacker with 5. In major honours Miroslav Klose collected 7 — headlined by 1× FIFA World Cup (2014) — whereas Per Mertesacker amassed 4, led by 1× FIFA World Cup (2014). Across the modern era and the modern era respectively, their mercurial and anticipatory styles captured the spirit of very different footballing times. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Miroslav Klose's landmark level arrived around 2014 with a career spanning Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Lazio; Per Mertesacker's came around 2014 across Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Arsenal. Whichever side you land on, both belong in any conversation about the finest of their generation.
187 words · comparison angle: era
Player profiles
All-time FIFA World Cup top scorer with 16 goals; Germany's all-time leading goalscorer with 71 international goals.
“A selfless striker and aerial specialist whose consistency made him a World Cup great.”
A towering, calm German centre-back nicknamed 'BFG' by Arsenal fans, Mertesacker started every match of Germany's triumphant 2014 World Cup campaign.
“A commanding, positionally intelligent centre-back whose reading of the game compensated for a lack of raw pace.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 1× FIFA World Cup (2014)
- 2× Bundesliga (2008, 2010)
- 3× DFB-Pokal (2005, 2008, 2010)
- 1× Coppa Italia (2013)
- 1× FIFA World Cup (2014)
- 3× FA Cup (2014, 2015, 2017)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 2000 Kaiserslautern debut
- 2002 World Cup debut, scored five headed goals
- 2007 Joined Bayern Munich
- 2011 Joined Lazio, won over fans with relentless work rate
- 2014 World Cup winner, became the all-time World Cup top scorer (16 goals)
- 2016 Retired at Lazio
- 2001 Professional debut for Hannover 96
- 2014 Won FIFA World Cup with Arsenal
- 2014 Won FA Cup with Arsenal
- 2014 Reached the peak of his powers at Arsenal
- 2018 Retired after a final spell at Arsenal
- Finished his career with 15 goals in 550 appearances and 4 major honours. Finished his career with 15 goals in 550 appearances and 4 major honours.
The verdict
Reasonable people will disagree, but Miroslav Klose wins out by a decisive margin on the weight of a sharper goalscoring record.
Miroslav Klose edges it (a decisive margin)
