The debate over who the more significant player is between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi is ongoing, with fans frequently clashing over various aspects of their careers. One contentious topic is their respective penalty records.
Penalty goals are sometimes considered less legitimate, padding the stats of their impressive career totals for Barcelona, Argentina, Real Madrid, and Portugal.
This article delves into the statistics to compare Ronaldo and Messi’s penalty records, examining their performance for club and country, shootout records, and notable misses.
Ronaldo vs Messi: Overall Penalty Records
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has taken 194 penalties throughout his career, scoring 164. This gives him an overall success rate of 84.5%. Breaking this down, Ronaldo has taken 166 penalties for his clubs, converting 144, resulting in a success rate of 86.7%.
Internationally, he has taken 28 penalties, scoring 20, with a success rate of 71.4%. Penalties account for 18.8% of his club goals and 15.3% of his international goals, making up 18.3% of his total career goals.
Ronaldo has also scored 10 out of 12 penalties in shootouts, winning eight and losing eight shootouts.
Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi has taken 140 penalties in his career, scoring 109 of them. This gives him an overall success rate of 77.9%. Messi has taken 111 penalties for his clubs, converting 85, resulting in a success rate of 76.6%.
Internationally, he has taken 29 penalties, scoring 24, with a success rate of 82.8%. Penalties account for 11.6% of his club and 22% of his international goals, making up 13.07% of his total career goals. Messi has scored 11 out of 12 penalties in shootouts, winning eight and losing four shootouts.
High-Pressure Misses
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Notable Misses
- 2008 Champions League Semi-Final vs. Barcelona: His team still won despite missing.
- 2008 Champions League Final vs. Chelsea: Missed in the shootout, but Manchester United still triumphed.
- 2012 Champions League Semi-Final vs. Bayern Munich: Missed in the shootout, and Real Madrid was eliminated.
- Euro 2024 Round of 16 vs. Slovenia: Missed, but Portugal still won the match.
- Lionel Messi’s Notable Misses
- 2012 Champions League Semi-Final vs. Chelsea: Missed, contributing to Barcelona’s elimination.
- 2016 Copa America Final vs. Chile: Missed in the shootout, and Argentina lost the final.
Penalty Shootout Records
Messi has a slight edge over Ronaldo regarding conversion rate in penalty shootouts. Messi scored 11 out of 12 penalties in shootouts (91.7%), whereas Ronaldo scored 10 out of 12 (83%).
Ronaldo has also been in shootouts where he didn’t take a penalty because he was scheduled as the 4th or 5th taker, and the shootout ended before his turn.
Messi’s Penalty Shootout Record
- Scored 11 out of 12 penalties in shootouts.
- Won eight shootouts and lost four.
Ronaldo’s Penalty Shootout Record
- Scored 10 out of 12 penalties in shootouts.
- Won eight shootouts and lost eight.
Reliance on Penalty Goals
Regarding the proportion of their goals from penalties, Ronaldo relies more on penalty goals than Messi. Penalties make up 18.32% of Ronaldo’s total goals, compared to 13.02% for Messi.
Additionally, 48.5% of Ronaldo’s hat-tricks have included a penalty goal, compared to 21.1% for Messi.
Penalties Taken Per Season
Ronaldo has taken more penalties overall, with his highest number in a single club season being 16 and his most scored in a club season being 14.
Messi’s highest number of penalties in a single club season is 17, with 14 being the most he scored in one season. Including international games, Messi’s highest is 18 in the 2011/12 season, and Ronaldo’s highest is 19 in the 2019/20 season.
Read More: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Goalscoring Records
Summary
The comparison between Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s penalty records reveals some interesting insights. Ronaldo has taken more penalties, has a higher overall success rate, and a greater reliance on penalty goals.
Conversely, Messi has a slightly better shootout conversion rate and has taken fewer penalties. Both players have missed crucial penalties in high-pressure situations, but their overall records remain impressive.
Ultimately, while Ronaldo’s stats might suggest he is the more dependable penalty-taker, both players have demonstrated remarkable skill and composure from the spot throughout their illustrious careers.
