7 goalkeepers we can’t believe Lionel Messi has never scored against
Lionel Messi has scored 838 career goals up until this point and while he’s got the better of most goalkeepers, some have managed to stop him.
The Argentine forward has scored against some of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, from Manuel Neuer and Gianluigi Buffon, to Iker Casillas and Thibaut Courtois.
However, we’ve managed to compile a list of seven quality goalkeepers that Messi has faced and has never managed to score against.
Julio Cesar
The Brazilian goalkeeper boasts a better record against Messi than any other goalkeeper in football history. He’s faced the Argentine forward on five occasions and has never conceded a single goal to him.
Two of their meetings have come on the international stage while the other three games were in the Champions League when Barcelona faced Inter Milan.
Arguably, the most famous save of Cesar’s career was against Messi. Barcelona only needed to score one more goal to advance to the 2010 Champions League final, but in the closing stages of the game, Cesar pulled off an excellent save to deny Messi.
“I don’t know if it was the best one, but it is surely the most famous and important,” Cesar told La Gazzetta Dello Sport when discussing the save.
“Everyone remembers it. Still today, people ask me how I managed to do it. I stretched well. But the question is: how did Inter manage such an impressive performance?”
Victor Valdes
Messi played alongside Valdes for 10 years at Barcelona and he probably scored countless goals against him in training.
However, when they faced each other on the international stage in 2010, Messi couldn’t find a way past his Barcelona teammate.
To be fair, it was Messi who had the last laugh as Argentina ran out as 4-1 winners on the night. While he did score in the game, Pepe Reina was between the sticks when he hit the back of the net and Valdes then played the second half.
Throughout Messi’s entire career, that’s the only time he’s ever played against Valdes.
Samir Handanovic
Inter always seemed to be Messi’s bogey side, so it’s probably no surprise that he never managed to score against Handanovic.
In the Champions League, Messi faced the Nerazzurri on four separate occasions and he never managed to score in any of the games.
Handanovic was between the sticks for one of those games and while Messi didn’t manage to score, he did assist Luis Suarez for an 84th-minute winning goal.
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Gianluigi Donnarumma
Messi spent two years playing alongside Donnarumma at PSG, but he never managed to score against the Italian goalkeeper in a competitive fixture.
The pair faced each other in the 2022 Finalissima and, despite Messi running the show and producing two assists, he didn’t find a way past the Italian on the night.
Tim Howard
Howard faced Messi in two separate international friendlies between 2008 and 2011, keeping the Argentine forward at bay in both fixtures.
While Messi never managed to score against Howard, the former United States international still regards him as one of the best players he’s ever faced.
“You know, I remember playing against him and he’s…almost impossible, impossible to prepare for because the angles and the pace and the way he hits balls,” Howard told NBC.
“You’re hoping that it’s, you know, one of those days where you have a really good day and your reactions are sharp and he has a really off day because otherwise there is no advice to give a goalkeeper because it’s just he’s that good.”
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Danijel Subasic
The Croatian shot-stopper only faced Messi on one occasion and along with claiming a clean sheet, his side also ran out as 3-0 winners.
Argentina weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders during the 2018 World Cup and Croatia claimed a historic 3-0 triumph over Messi and co in the group stages of that tournament.
Shay Given
Given once described Messi as the “best player to ever grace the planet” and he got the chance to face him in 2010 during an international friendly.
While Argentina did claim a 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland, Messi couldn’t find the back of the net against the former Newcastle goalkeeper.