The result of a game and even a player’s stats can change if a referee decides to award a penalty. And there are strikers who, throughout their careers, have been able to convert these shots from 11 meters with surgical precision.
In more than two decades of careers, we cannot forget Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, two icons of the sport who have been responsible for taking these shots on hundreds of occasions. However, a Premier League star claims to be better than the Argentine and the Portuguese.
Fulham star puts himself above CR7 and Messi
During an interview with FOX Sports, Raúl Jiménez, the 34-year-old Mexican striker, answered some questions where he had to choose between two players in different situations. When it came to choosing the best penalty taker, he did not hesitate to choose himself.
Among the names mentioned by the journalist were Harry Kane, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández, Rogério Ceni, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi. And Jiménez chose himself over all of them:
Whether you like it or not, I have a better success rate than all of the ones you mentioned. I don’t know if I’m the best in the world, but it’s something that characterizes me. I’ll stick with myself.
The truth is that the statistics back him up: if we look at his entire career, out of 46 penalties in all competitions, Jiménez has only missed twice, giving him a success rate of 96%.
The first time the ball didn’t hit the back of the net was in a friendly match between Mexico and Uruguay in 2018, where Fernando Muslera managed to save the ball. Then, during his time at Wolverhampton, Raúl missed his shot in the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals against Sevilla in 2020. Yassine Bounou “Bono” saved it.
However, this percentage does set him apart from icons such as Messi, who has scored 112 out of 144 shots (77.8% effectiveness), and Ronaldo, who has converted 182 out of 218 penalties (83.5%).
Meanwhile, after recently scoring against Sunderland, Raúl reached 13 penalties scored out of 13 taken in the Premier League.
In doing so, he surpassed Yaya Touré’s 11 goals without a miss, although first place still belongs to Thierry Henry, who converted 23 out of 23 penalties.
Jiménez needs 11 more goals and no mistakes if he wants to surpass him. However, even if he doesn’t succeed, his name is already synonymous with reliability for the team.
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