Everton: Reason for giving up penalties reveals much about Leighton Baines

Leighton Baines reveals why he gave up taking penalties for Everton and it tell you everything you need to know about his humble attitude and selflessness.

Ask Everton supporters to name any players — past or present — who they admire and appreciate, and there’s a very good chance Leighton Baines will be included on that list.

There are a number of reasons Evertonians like the man, with his loyalty being high on the list. In fact, Baines holds the record for the most appearances in club history by a full back.

This speaks volumes about the durability of the 32-year-old, who also holds the Premier League record for most assists by a defender. This shouldn’t be too surprising really, when you consider the effort he puts in game after game, bombing up and down the left side of the pitch and never seeming to get tired.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Everton fans have now been given yet another reason to like Baines. And it relates to the mystery of why he gave up taking penalties for the Blues.

The England international revealed all during a supporters event at Goodison Park, to celebrate a decade of service for him and Phil Jagielka. It turns out he wanted to help former teammate, Romelu Lukaku.

Lukaku was struggling to score goals and Baines wanted to give him a boost. As reported by the Echo‘s David Prentice, he said to the striker:

"“‘Do you want to take penalties?’ Because I felt it was more important for him to get up and running scoring goals.“I felt that as a striker you get your confidence from scoring goals and I thought if he gets up and running scoring penalties he’ll probably score more.”"

Lukaku turned down the offer at the time, but returned at a later date to ask if it still stood. Baines agreed, saying he still felt the same way.