Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is arguably the best player the game has ever seen. The Paris Saint-Germain superstar is calm and collected on the ball, possesses excellent vision and has a unique quality of impacting play without scoring or assisting. He can effortlessly play as a midfielder, winger, or even a false nine, excelling in each of those roles.
To put the cherry on top, Messi also happens to be one of the most generous players one will ever find. He regularly brings his teammates into play, makes space for them, and has even given them the chance to take penalties to boost their morale.
Yes, the former Barcelona man has gifted 30 penalties to his teammates since 2008, eight of which could have ensured his hat-trick.
Today, we will take a closer look at the beneficiaries of the PSG superstar's generosity. Here are five players who have been gifted the most penalties by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner:
Special note: Only penalties after the 2008-09 campaign have been taken into account.
#5 Kylian Mbappe – 1 penalty
PSG ace Kylian Mbappe has created a strong bond with Lionel Messi since the latter’s free transfer to the French club from Barcelona in the summer of 2021.
Instead of invading each other’s spaces, the forwards have been playing peacefully, regularly benefitting off of one another. So far, the Argentine has set up Mbappe four times in Ligue 1. No player has assisted another more times in the French top-flight this season.
Mbappe is also the latest player to receive a penalty from the 34-year-old. In the Champions League group stage clash against Club Brugge, Messi allowed Mbappe to take PSG’s second spot-kick of the game.
The Argentina star was on a hat-trick at the time and could have easily taken the kick, as Mbappe was completely fine with it. Instead, he allowed the Frenchman to have a go, who comically put his effort over the bar.
Thankfully, his miss didn’t impact the outcome, as the Parisiens still managed to bag a 3-2 win on the night.
#4 Philippe Coutinho – 2 penalties
Former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho did not enjoy the best of spells at Barcelona. He failed to settle in at the Camp Nou and regularly came under harsh criticism.
Thankfully, he had his captain, Lionel Messi, in his corner, who always tried his best to boost the Brazilian’s morale.
In the couple of seasons they played together in Spain, Barcelona’s record goalscorer let Coutinho take two spot-kicks, both of which were convincingly converted by the Brazilian.
In the 2018-19 campaign, Messi generously allowed Coutinho to take a 13th minute spot-kick against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
The 29-year-old, who was struggling for form at the time, stepped up and put it away with conviction to put Barca 1-0 up.
Infused with confidence, Coutinho, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, scored another in the second half to help the Catalan giants to a 6-1 win.
#3 Samuel Eto’o – 3 penalties
Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o did not play together for long, but the understanding they had was for all to see.
Following an impressive 2007-08 campaign, the Argentine emerged as Barcelona’s primary goal-getter the following season. Eto’o was still the club's frontman, but Pep Guardiola appointed Messi for spot-kick duties.
That season, he let Eto’o take three penalties, allegedly giving them all from his own share.
The most memorable one came against Real Madrid in December 2008. Having already scored once, the Cameroonian was full of confidence and took the 70th-minute spot-kick ahead of Messi.
Los Blancos keeper Iker Casillas stopped his effort, keeping the scoreline at 1-0. Barcelona ultimately scored another through Messi in the 90th minute to bag a convincing 2-0 win.
#2 Luis Suarez – 8 penalties
The trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar have gone down as one of the most explosive and versatile attacking line-ups in the history of the game.
Not only did the players read each other well, but they also seemed to genuinely care about the well-being of one another. Suarez and Messi were two peas in a pod at Barcelona and regularly combined to devastating effect.
Messi also made it a point to gift penalties to Suarez when he needed a helping hand. He allowed the Uruguayan to take eight penalties when the duo played together, seven of which were comfortably converted by the former Liverpool star.
In an eventual 8-2 win over Huesca in the 2018-19 campaign, Suarez won a penalty three minutes into added time. Instead of trying to complete his hat-trick, the Argentina international gave the penalty to Suarez, who had already scored once.
The striker scored, of course, and pointed towards his captain while wheeling away in celebration.
#1 Neymar – 12 penalties
Before switching to PSG for a record-breaking €222 million in 2017, Neymar and Messi used to torment Europe in Barcelona’s colors. The duo had a telepathic understanding and regularly fed off of one another. The Argentine took Neymar under his wing and always lent him a helping hand when he needed it.
Between 2013 and 2014, the Barca record-goalscorer gifted a whopping 12 spot-kicks to the Brazilian. Unfortunately, the left-winger could only convert half of those chances, which is abysmal for a player of his quality. Thankfully, he did not fluff his line when it mattered the most in the 2016-17 campaign.
Despite being the team’s spot-kick taker, the Argentine allowed Neymar to take an injury-time penalty in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 clash against PSG.
The Brazilian converted emphatically to give Barcelona a 5-1 lead, completing his brace.
A couple of minutes later, Sergi Roberto scored the tie-winning goal for the Blaugrana, overturning the 4-0 first leg defeat in Paris.