The biggest argument of this football generation has a penalty chapter too. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more penalties than almost anyone alive. Lionel Messi has scored the most important ones, including two in the 2022 World Cup Final. We could not separate them, so they share number 2.
Weighing up Ronaldo and Messi from the spot
- Ronaldo: 150-plus career penalties, an 84% conversion rate, that wide stance, and spot kicks scored in Champions League finals.
- Messi: 100-plus career penalties, a conversion rate above 77%, and two penalties in the 2022 World Cup Final.
- Ronaldo has the volume. Few players in the history of the game have scored more from the spot.
- Messi has the bigger moments, and that World Cup Final is hard to top.
Neither record is spotless. Ronaldo missed against Bayern in 2012 and Messi missed against Iceland at the 2018 World Cup. Every heavy user of the penalty spot collects a few of those.
If you want quantity, Ronaldo wins. If you value the biggest nights more, Messi's World Cup Final is difficult to argue with. It depends on what you count.
And yet neither of them is our number one. So who is?
Tomorrow: the greatest penalty taker on our list, number 1.
