The next time West Ham United duo Mark Noble and Michail Antonio see eachother things might be a little bit awkward.
Read: The list of players managed by agent at centre of West Ham transfer plans
New statistics have revealed that West Ham skipper Noble is officially the second best penalty taker in world football of the last 20 years.
The Sportsman made the revelation on Twitter.
Photo by Arfa Griffiths West Ham United via Getty Images
Noble officially second best penalty taker of the last 20 years in world football
And West Ham’s living legend is behind only Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski with a superb conversion ratio of 90.5%.
Lewandowski has scored 46 of his 49 penalties.
The Hammers skipper is ahead of all-time greats Rivaldo (90.2%), Brazilian Ronaldo (90%) and controversial Italian striker Mario Balotelli (88.4%).
Noble is the only central midfielder in the top five, dominated understandably by strikers.
But the achievement will be galling for West Ham and Noble because it could have been even better.
The homegrown Hammer could have put himself in the position to take number one spot had he not gifted Antonio THAT penalty against Manchester United in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last week.
Photo by Arfa Griffiths West Ham United FC via Getty Images
Hammers skipper might regret Antonio gift
Noble gave his West Ham teammate the chance to score from the spot to take his tally for the season to 10.
Antonio duly converted and bagged himself a £250,000 bonus in the process (The Sun).
But had Noble taken that penalty and scored, his stats would have risen further.
And all it would take is an unsuccessful penalty attempt from Lewandowski when the Champions League resumes in August to put Noble at the top of the tree.
Galling.
Photo by Stuart Franklin Getty Images
Crazy stat puts West Ham star’s name up in lights
And perhaps Antonio needs to share some of his bonus with Noble to soften the blow.
Especially after Antonio’s glaring miss on the final day against Aston Villa which meant he would not have reached 10 goals without Noble gifting him the penalty.
“Mark Noble is the second best penalty taker in world football since 2000 (minimum 30 penalties taken),” The Sportsman posted on Twitter.
The top 5 penalty takers in world football since 2000
1) Robert Lewandowski (91.1%)
2) Mark Noble (90.5%)
3) Rivaldo (90.2%)
4) Ronaldo Nazario (90%)
5) Mario Balotelli (88.4%)
⚽️ Mark Noble is the second best penalty taker in world football since 2000 (minimum 30 penalties taken).
1⃣ Robert Lewandowski (91.1%)
2⃣ Mark Noble (90.5%)
3⃣ Rivaldo (90.2%)
4⃣ Ronaldo Nazario (90%)
5⃣ Mario Balotelli (88.4%)@Noble16Mark | @WestHam pic.twitter.com/hIjdkJU1eA— thesportsman (@TheSportsman) July 30, 2020