Messi closes in on a Ronaldo La Liga record

The Argentine has moved another step closer to making more La Liga history at the expense of long-time rival Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi has moved to within one goal of equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most penalties scored in La Liga history.

The FC Barcelona captain scored from the spot in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Cadiz at Camp Nou. It was the 60th penalty he had scored throughout his career in the Spanish top-flight, leaving him on the brink of matching Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid legend scored a record 61 spot-kicks during his time in Spain between 2009 and 2018 before joining Juventus.

Messi is just one goal away from matching Ronaldo's record for penalties scored in La Liga:

Ronaldo: 61
Messi: 60 pic.twitter.com/BG1qVOyMIF

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 21, 2021

Messi vs Ronaldo – who has been the most prolific penalty-taker?

46% of Cristiano Ronaldo’s 134 penalty goals have come in La Liga after scoring 61 times from the spot. He missed on only 11 occasions for Real Madrid, leaving him with an 85% success rate in the Spanish top-flight.

Messi, meanwhile, has missed 13 penalties across his La Liga career. The Barcelona star has, though, bagged a solid 60 penalty goals out of 73 attempts and his 82% success rate isn’t far off Ronaldo’s. He’s also scored three of his four spot-kicks in the league this season.

Since Cristiano left in 2018, the 33-year-old has slotted home 12 goals from the spot out of 13 attempts in Spain.

But while Messi will surely become the record holder for the most penalties scored in Spanish league history, Ronaldo was a more prolific taker during his time in Madrid – statistically speaking at least.

Top 10 penalty goalscorers in La Liga history

Pos	Player	Penalty goals
1.	Cristiano Ronaldo	61
2.	Lionel Messi	60
3.	Hugo Sanchez	56
4.	Ronald Koeman	45
5.	Lubo Penev	44
6.	Dani Ruiz	34
7.	Rafa Marañón	34
8.	David Villa	32
9.	Ander Garitano	31
10.	Raul Tamudo	30