Argentine star Lionel Messi has scored 838 goals in his illustrious football career, challenging the most skilled goalkeepers, but 7 of them succeeded in stopping him and preventing him from scoring against them.
The Argentine striker has scored against some of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, from Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon, to Iker Casillas and Thibaut Courtois.
Here is a list of the seven goalkeepers who have failed to score against Messi:
1- Brazilian Julio Cesar
The Brazilian goalkeeper has a better record against Messi than any other goalkeeper in football history. He has faced the Argentine striker on five occasions and has never conceded a goal.
Two of their meetings came on the international stage, while the other three were in the Champions League when Barcelona faced Inter Milan.
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Arguably the most famous save in Cesar’s career was against Messi in the Champions League semi-final in 2010.
“I don’t know if it’s the best, but it’s certainly the most famous and important,” Cesar told La Gazzetta dello Sport when discussing the save.
“Everyone remembers that,” he added. “To this day, people ask me how I managed to do it. But I stretched pretty well.”
🎂 Happy Birthday to Julio Cesar, treble winner with @Inter in 2010!
Celebrate with his crucial #UCL semi-final second leg save from Leo Messi… ✋⛔️ pic.twitter.com/u0A6mfRFAP
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 3, 2018
2-Spanish Victor Valdes
Messi played alongside Valdes for 10 years at Barcelona and probably scored countless goals against him in training.
However, when Argentina beat Spain 4-1 in a 2010 friendly in Buenos Aires, Messi could not find a way past his Barcelona teammate.
Throughout Messi’s career, this was the only time he played against Valdes.
Messi has pure talent. He has managed to improve year after year, with the pressure of being the best: Víctor Valdés pic.twitter.com/OYVuiB6pUq
— TV Azteca Sports (@AztecaDeportes) August 11, 2015
3- Samir Handanovic
Inter always seem to be Messi’s terror side, so perhaps it’s no surprise he’s never been able to score against Handanovic.
In the Champions League, Messi has faced the Nerazzurri on 4 separate occasions and has failed to score in any of the matches.
Handanovic was between the posts in one of those games, and while Messi couldn’t score, he did assist Luis Suarez’s 84th-minute winner.
Happy birthday Samir Handanovic. Made an awful mistake yesterday and some Interisti forgot how he used to save this team during difficult times. Appreciate this man today. He is a legend and the most consistent player we have had since Zanettipic.twitter.com/uw5HGGMKIK
— Daniel (@EdenDassidy) July 14, 2020
4- Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma
Messi spent two years playing alongside Donnarumma at Paris Saint-Germain, but was never able to score against the Italian goalkeeper in a competitive match.
The duo faced each other in the 2022 Finalissima Cup final, and although Messi ran the show and provided two assists, he couldn’t find a way past the Italian that night.
Messi’s 🐐 Performance in The Final 2022‼️
🏆 Lionel 𝗠essi 🏆
Record B𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿. History M𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿.
The greatest 🐐 there is, the greatest 🐐 there was and the greatest 🐐there ever will be.FAITH + HUMILITY + EXCELLENCE + CONSISTENCY = SUCCESS
Leo Messi, the best and… pic.twitter.com/Dlb3Okrkdt
— 🅱🅸🅲🅷⚽️🆈 (@Messi_TheGOAT) April 23, 2023
5-American Tim Howard
Howard faced Messi in two separate international friendlies between 2008 and 2011, keeping the Argentine striker at bay in both matches.
“You know, I remember playing against him and he’s almost impossible, impossible to prepare for because of the angles and the speed and the way he hits the balls,” Howard told NBC.
6-Croatian Daniel Subasic
The Croatian goalkeeper faced Messi only once during the 2018 World Cup in the group stage.
In addition to keeping a clean sheet, his team also came away with a 3-0 win.
🇭🇷 Danijel Subasic 🙌
2018 World Cup save percentage: 87.5% pic.twitter.com/5bnXW4bp5z
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 4, 2018
7-Irish Tea Given
Given once described Messi as “the best player to ever grace the planet” and had the chance to face him in 2010 during an international friendly.
While Argentina won 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland, Messi was unable to find the back of the net against the former Newcastle goalkeeper.
Denied ❌
🇮🇪 Happy birthday, Shay Given 🥳#HBD | @No1shaygiven | @FAIreland pic.twitter.com/iXilpw2hsJ
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) April 20, 2022
