Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in race for all-time top scorer title, excluding penalties

For the past two decades, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated world soccer, redefining greatness through consistent excellence. While Ronaldo currently holds the edge in total goals, a deeper dive into the numbers reveals a much tighter race—especially when penalty kicks are taken out of the picture.

According to data from MessivsRonaldo.app, Ronaldo has racked up 931 career goals, while Messi has 855. But if you strip away goals from the penalty spot, the difference shrinks dramatically—despite Messi playing nearly 200 fewer games. The Argentine has scored 746 non-penalty goals, while Ronaldo sits just ahead at 759—a gap of only 13.

Ronaldo has taken 205 penalties and converted 173, giving him an 84.5% conversion rate. Messi has taken 140 and scored 109, a 77.9% success rate. These stats exclude shootouts in knockout-stage matches.

It’s worth noting that Ronaldo, now 40, has played significantly more matches than Messi over the course of their careers—further emphasizing just how close the race becomes when isolating non-penalty goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Al Nassr scores his team’s third goal from the penalty spot during the Saudi Pro League match between Al Hilal v Al Nassr. (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

Messi and Ronaldo’s most memorable penalty misses

Even legends miss under pressure—and both Messi and Ronaldo have had their fair share of costly moments from the spot. For Ronaldo, one of the most memorable misses came in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League semifinal shootout against Bayern Munich, where Real Madrid was ultimately eliminated. He also misfired in the 2008 final with Manchester United against Chelsea, though his team went on to win 6–5 on penalties.

see also

FIFA Rankings: Lionel Messi’s Argentina stay on top as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal drop

Messi’s toughest penalty moments include his miss against Chelsea in the second leg of the 2011–12 Champions League semifinal, which saw Barcelona knocked out.

On the international stage, his miss in the 2016 Copa America final shootout against Chile led to a brief retirement from Argentina duty—one he walked back just 66 days later, to the relief of fans everywhere.