Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi? Who has missed most number of penalties? Stat check after Portugal captain misses spot-kick vs Denmark

Cristiano Ronaldo has a better penalty conversation rate than Lionel Messi, according to messivsronaldo.app. CR7 surprisingly missed a penalty during Portugal's UEFA Nations League quarterfinal second-leg tie on Sunday, March 23.

Roberto Martinez's team arrived at the game with a 1-0 deficit in the tie in the second leg and needed a win to progress to the semifinals. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner had the chance to send his team ahead as early as the sixth minute from the spot but saw his penalty saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

Cristiano Ronaldo, however, made amends by scoring in the 72nd minute. Portugal went on to win the game 5-2 after extra time, thanks to Joachim Anderson's own goal, Francisco Trincao's brace, and Goncalo Ramos' goal.

However, CR7's penalty miss remains the topic of debate. The Portuguese superstar has scored 173 of 205 penalties attempted, missing 32, with an 84.8% conversion rate.

Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has scored 109 of his 140 attempted penalties, missing 31, registering a 77.9% success rate. Interestingly, one of those misses was a deliberate pass to his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez.

These stats, however, do not include penalty shootouts. The superstar duo have an identical success rate of 84.6% in shootouts, with both scoring 11 of 14 attempted.

Cristiano Ronaldo famously missed the first penalty in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semifinal shootouts, which Real Madrid lost to Bayern Munich. Lionel Messi, interestingly, also missed a penalty in the Champions League semifinals second leg in the same season, with Barcelona losing to Chelsea.

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How many goals have Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the Champions League?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has scored 129 goals and set up 40 more from 163 appearances in the Champions League to date. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, has registered 140 goals and 41 assists from 183 games.

The Portuguese superstar has won the premier European tournament once with Manchester United and four times with Real Madrid. La Pulga, meanwhile, has won the Champions League four times, all during his stay with Barcelona.

The Argentinean has converted 18 of his 23 penalties in Europe, while CR7 has missed just three of his 22 taken. Messi has scored five free kicks in the Champions League, while Ronaldo has scored 12.

18 of La Pulga's goals have come from outside the box, compared to the Portuguese's 10. Both players, interestingly, have scored eight hattricks in the Champions League to date.