Rosario Falls Count: Messi‘s penalty Record Reveals 32 Missed From 145 Attempts
Lionel Messi, arguably teh greatest footballer of all time, has faced down pressure from the penalty spot 145 times throughout his illustrious career, converting 113 and missing 32, a conversion rate of roughly 78%. A detailed examination of his penalty record across various competitions-from La liga and the Spanish Super Cup to World Cups, friendlies, and even Major League Soccer-reveals a pattern of consistent volume, with surprisingly limited impact on match outcomes.
The data, compiled from records spanning 2008 to 2025, shows Messi’s penalty attempts distributed across his career stages. In La liga, he took 23 penalties, scoring 19 and missing 4. He executed 1 penalty in the Spanish Super Cup, failing to convert. During World Cup play, Messi has been presented with 6 penalty opportunities, successfully converting 2. Friendly matches account for 10 attempts, resulting in 3 goals. Most recently,in MLS action with Inter Miami in 2025,he missed a penalty against Charlotte FC.
Here’s a breakdown of Messi’s penalty record by competition:
La Liga: 23 attempts (19 goals, 4 misses) – including a 1-0 victory over Villarreal in 2008.
Spanish Super Cup: 1 attempt (0 goals, 1 miss) – a 0-0 draw against Atlético Madrid in 2013.
World Cups: 6 attempts (2 goals, 4 misses) – featuring a 1-1 draw against Iceland in 2018 and a 2-0 win over Poland in 2022.
Friendly Matches: 10 attempts (3 goals, 7 misses) – including victories over Brazil (2019) and Germany (2012).
MLS: 1 attempt (0 goals, 1 miss) – a 0-1 loss to Charlotte FC in 2025.
Despite the 32 missed penalties representing 22% of his total attempts,the statistics indicate that Messi’s failures rarely translated into lost points for his teams. Only three of the 30 games in which he missed a penalty ultimately ended in defeat for his side. This suggests that even when failing from the spot, Messi’s overall impact on the game often proved sufficient to secure positive results.
