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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

The surprise ex-Tottenham star with a better penalty record than Kane, Neymar, Ronaldo and Messi

Harry Kane has a perfect record from the penalty spot for club and country this season.

He made no mistake from 12 yards to put Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 up against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the north London derby before the international break, while two of his three goals for England were penalties.

Furthermore, he has scored five penalties in his last five appearances at Wembley Stadium for club and country. A really impressive feat and one which could see him claim all sorts of records if he maintains such a high conversion rate.

But Kane is statistically - via the BBC - not the most prolific player from the penalty spot across Europe's top five leagues.

Since the start of the 2017/18 season, the Spurs star has taken 10 penalties and converted all but one which gives him a conversion rate of 90 per cent.

That's better than Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mauro Icardi.

Yet Kane still the likes of Arsenal club record signing Nicolas Pepe, Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, ex-Middlesbrough midfielder Cristhian Stuani and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar.

And the player at number one may come as a surprise to many supporters.

Nabil Bentaleb - a former teammate of Kane's - is statistically the most prolific penalty taker across Europe's top five leagues with a 100 per cent record from 12 penalties taken.

Nabil Bentaleb tucks another spot kick away against Manchester City. (ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

With Kane very much the first-choice penalty taker at Spurs, it would be an interesting debate if Bentaleb was to ever make a return to north London in the future.

Something he didn't rule out earlier in the year.

"I got injured and when I came back, I wanted to play so bad that I had some arguments [with Pochettino]. I was a little bit frustrated, and I was learning basically," he said in an interview with the Independent. "Being on the bench is a learning curve.

Gareth Southgate praises Kane after hat-trick against Bulgaria

"I know I made mistakes. But they helped me learn, as a man. And they don’t stop me from sleeping at night. And if I was 24 right now, and I had been at Tottenham, I don’t think I would make the same mistakes.

"We spoke to each other for a bit, it was really nice.

"I knew he wanted the best for me. I respect him for sure, I have no problem with him. My desire to play was too much, and after that I was swerving away.

"Now, a couple of years later, I know why. I have a bit more maturity, I understand now. I understand what was best for me. And it was good for me, when I look back at it.

"I would be a hypocrite to say that I would not like to be there, and I am not a hypocrite. But this is football."

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