Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, two of the highest scorers in football history, have both been denied from the penalty spot by two exceptional goalkeepers.
In Portugal's dramatic penalty shootout win against Slovenia at Euro 2024, Ronaldo made headlines by breaking down in tears during extra time. Despite missing a penalty earlier, denied by Jan Oblak, he redeemed himself in the shootout.
Messi also knows the sting of missing against Oblak, having been denied in the 2015 Copa del Rey quarter-final.
Diego Alves is the only other goalkeeper to deny both Messi and Ronaldo from the spot. He saved a Ronaldo penalty in his debut season, and again in 2015 as well as 2017. Alves's saves account for 10% of the penalties Ronaldo has missed throughout his career.
Ronaldo and Messi are always compared, including their penalty records. Internationally, Messi has a penalty conversion rate of 82.8%, scoring 24 out of 29, while Ronaldo's rate is 71.4%, with 20 out of 28.
