Maradona VS Messi

Messi jumped out to a commanding 63% share on day one and never looked back. Maradona clawed steadily closer through the middle stretch, cutting the gap from 63% down to 55% by day 43 — but that's as close as the comeback got.

The chase stalled cold: from day 43 through day 74, Messi's lead froze at 55%, and Maradona couldn't find another gear. Final tally: 4,695 votes to 3,903, a 54.6%-45.4% split decided almost entirely in the first six weeks.

• Wire-to-wire lead · Messi led every single day of the 74-day poll
• The real battle · Maradona closed 63%-to-55% gap, then stalled for a month
• Italy's home-turf loyalty · 336 Italian votes still leaned Messi over hometown hero Maradona