Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, widely regarded as two of the greatest football players of all time, have consistently demonstrated their exceptional skills on the field.
However, even the best players can have goal droughts and falter when it comes to penalty kicks and looking at their most recent misses in EUFA EURO 2024 round of 16 and copa américa quarter-finals respectively, we delve into the history of penalty misses by both Ronaldo and Messi, examining the circumstances and frequency of their misses, and ultimately comparing their penalty-taking prowess.
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Ronaldo has scored a total of 164 penalties (not including shootouts) in his career, with a conversion rate of 84.5%. Ronaldo has missed penalties in high-stakes matches, including:
– 2008 Champions League Final: Manchester United vs. Chelsea
– 2012 Champions League Semi-final vs Bayern Munich
– 2019 Serie A: Juventus vs. Chievo
– 2024 EUFA EURO Round of 16: Portugal vs Slovenia
Messi, on the other hand, has scored just 109 penalties, of the 140 he’s taken – that’s a conversion rate of 77.9% and has also missed penalties in significant matches, including:
– 2016 Copa America Centenario Final: Argentina vs. Chile
– 2018 Copa del Rey : Espanyol vs. Barcelona
– 2022 Champions League: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Real Madrid
– 2022 World Cup : Argentina vs. Poland
– 2024 copa américa quarter-finals: Argentina vs Ecuador.
While both players have impressive penalty-taking records, Ronaldo’s success rate is slightly higher. However, it’s essential to consider the context of their misses. Messi has missed a penalty in Copa America final, while Ronaldo has missed in the Champions League semi-final and final.
Even with those misses, both player’s abilities to perform under pressure are well-documented, and their goal scoring records reflects this. They have scored crucial penalties in high-stakes matches, including the 2014 Champions League Final for Ronaldo and Messi in 2022 world Cup in Qatar.
So, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both amazing football players, but when it comes to taking penalties, they have some subtle differences. Ronaldo has a slight edge in scoring penalties, especially in big games. But Messi is still a goal-scoring machine and a phenomenal player. The question of who’s better at taking penalties will continue to be debated, with each player having their own strengths and weaknesses.