In brief
Cavani and other elite strikers struggle with penalties.
Those assigned to take spot kicks undergo rigorous training.
Top penalty takers and sporadic missers are Messi and Ronaldo.
Some of the greatest football players in history have missed numerous penalties, so scoring from 12 yards isn’t as simple as it seems. Nevertheless, there are some excellent penalty takers in the current game who can choose their place and tune out the hubbub.
An accurate ball-striking technique and the ability to perform well under duress are characteristics of the spot-kick taker most teams have. Goalkeepers like Emi Martinez are renowned for their ability to stop penalties, but even the most reliable penalty-kick takers can make mistakes occasionally.
Some unexpected names are included on this list of the players who have missed the most penalties, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who is ranked highly as a spot-kick master. In light of that, these ten players have missed the most penalties in the twenty-first century.
Penalty shootout misses are not included in the individual totals. Additionally, the player with the lowest conversion rate will be ranked better if two players have the same amount of penalty misses.
10Edinson Cavani
Penalty Misses: 14
The famous striker Edinson Cavani is at the top of this list. Although he scored most of Napoli’s penalty kicks, the Uruguayan missed some important ones as well. He was the team’s main penalty taker.
Despite having a respectably high 81.6% penalty conversion rate, the striker has missed 14 penalties since 2001, placing him in the top ten players in the 21st century for most missed penalties. Despite his reputation as a poacher, Cavani was never Paris Saint-Germain’s go-to penalty taker.
Early in his tenure in France, before Kylian Mbappe had even reached the French city, the 38-year-old faced competition from elite players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar. Similar to this, Cavani never took a penalty outside of a shootout at Manchester United due to the presence of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes, and Cristiano Ronaldo, all of whom were superior to him in the spot-kick hierarchy.
9Sergio Aguero
Penalty Misses: 14
Because of his lower conversion rate, Sergio Aguero is ranked better than Edison Cavani even though he missed the same number of penalties. With a conversion rate of 77.4%, the Argentine is by no means poor. But given how many penalties the striker took, this figure is exaggerated.
Aguero’s pitiful attempt at a penalty in his last match for Manchester City will live on in his memory. Edouard Mendy, the custodian for Chelsea, easily stopped the gifted forward’s bold panenka attempt. This was also a costly miss because Chelsea rallied from behind in the second half to win the Premier League match 2-1 in the closing seconds.
8Antonio Di Natale
Penalty Misses: 14
Antonio Di Natale, a veteran, had a fantastic career and will be remembered more for his outstanding Serie A performances than his missed penalties. Both the Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year and the Serie A Top Goalscorer honours went to him in 2010.
After another outstanding league season, he won the top goalscorer accolade once more a year later. With 227 goals to his name, the deadly finisher retired in 2016 as Udinese’s all-time leading scorer. Di Natale has a 75.8% conversion rate, missing only 14 of his 44 spot-kick attempts.
7Ronaldinho
Penalties Missed: 16
The former Barcelona and AC Milan player isn’t typically thought of when you think of penalties, but it’s obvious that he was trusted from the penalty spot.
Even though Ronaldinho missed 17 penalties, one of them was taken prior to 2001 and isn’t counted in this list. Although the ambitious playmaker converted the majority of his penalties, he gained notoriety for taking free kicks. Ronaldinho frequently used an odd but successful tactic, which was to hit the ball beneath the wall instead of over or around it.
6Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Penalty Misses: 17
One athlete who enjoys being in the spotlight is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Swede has helped numerous clubs win leagues and cups by scoring some of the best goals under the most trying circumstances.
Having saying that, Ibrahimovic has taken it upon himself to accept penalties throughout his career, and he has done so 104 times. Even the best players can occasionally become overwhelmed by the strain of taking a penalty, so it’s easy to understand why he missed 17 of them. Ibrahimovic, who retired at age 41, has an 83.6% conversion percentage and has scored 87 goals from the penalty spot.
5Neymar
Penalty Misses: 18
Throughout his career, Neymar has stood up to take penalties for both club and country, and he has never backpedalled from this kind of pressure. Despite missing 18 penalties in his career, the flashy winger will be remembered as one of the greatest takers of the current generation.
Neymar usually chooses placement above power and has a slow run-up. With 87 goals from the penalty spot, the Brazilian has an extremely impressive 82.9% conversion rate. Although he took less penalties at Barcelona since Lionel Messi was the main taker, the 33-year-old has been the major penalty taker for Paris Saint-Germain, Santos, and the Brazil national team.
4Francesco Totti
Penalty Misses: 18
Despite being ranked highly on the list, Francesco Totti will be remembered as one of the greatest penalty-takers of the twenty-first century. Throughout his playing career, the striker scored a lot of goals, and naturally, his conversion percentage was above 80%.
Incredibly, Totti converted 13 straight penalties in the latter part of his career and missed not a single one in his final four and a half seasons. In his career, the Italian did miss two more penalties, but they were in 2001 and are not included in his total. The dynamic forward won two Copa Italia, two Supercoppa Italiana, and the Serie A championship during his time with Roma.
3Ciro Immobile
Penalties Missed: 19
Currently a member of Besiktas, Ciro Immobile has scored seven goals for the Turkish team this season. But he’s also missed two.
Immobile’s tenure with Lazio, where he set the club’s all-time goalscoring record, is what made him most famous. Another noteworthy achievement for the striker is that he currently ranks eighth on the list of all-time Serie A top goalscorers. Immobile has an 81.5% conversion rate from 12 yards out, having missed 19 penalties in his career.
2Lionel Messi
Penalty Misses: 31
Lionel Messi is in second place, which is surprising given that he scored four penalties during Argentina’s 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar. Even under trying conditions, the 37-year-old never backs down from a penalty and always sets an example.
In actuality, though, he has missed more penalties than any other player in the twenty-first century. In spite of this, he still has a 77.9% conversion rate, which is respectable given how many penalties he has already taken in his trophy-filled career.
In pivotal games, Messi has also missed penalties. He briefly retired from international football in 2016 after missing a crucial penalty for his nation, which resulted in their defeat in the Copa America final.
1Cristiano Ronaldo
Penalty Misses: 32
The inspired Cristiano Ronaldo is #1 on this awful record. The Portugal captain has the most missed penalty kicks, even if his conversion rate is an incredible 84.4%.
Throughout his career, Ronaldo has stepped up to take penalties, and he has done it on the most important occasions, including European Championships and pivotal Champions League games. Interestingly, the striker has also made a few mistakes when shooting from 12 yards out. For instance, in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea, he missed the penalty shootout.
His most recent miss, which was maybe the worst spot-kick he has ever attempted, occurred during Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark. He continues to be one of the most frequent penalty-spot takers, nevertheless.
Since 2001, these 10 football players have missed the most penalties.
Rank
The player
Present Club
Missed Penalties
Rate of Penalty Conversion
1.
Ronaldo Cristiano
Al Nassr
32
84.4%
2.
Lionel Messi
Miami Inter
31
77.9%
3.
Immobile Ciro
Besiktas
19.
81.5%
4.
Totti, Francesco
retired
18
81.1%
5.
Neymar
Al Hilal
18
82.9%
6.
Ibrahimovic, Zlatan
retired
17
83.6%
7.
Ronaldo
retired
16
81.1%
8.
Di Natale, Antonio
retired
14
75.8%
9.
Aguero Sergio
retired
14
77.4%
10.
Cavani Edinson
Junior Boca
14
81.6%
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