10 Players with the Most Penalties Scored in Football History

Key Takeaways

• Taking a penalty is not for the feint-hearted, with the pressure of a spot kick enough to make players crumble.

• Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are known for their accuracy from 12 yards.

• The 10 highest-scoring penalty takers of all time have been revealed.

The art of scoring a penalty is one that seems far easier than it actually is. The pressure of stepping up from 12 yards, knowing that everyone expects you to convert and that the odds are heavily stacked in your favour, is one that causes many people to crumble.

While some may try to argue that finding the back of the net from a spot kick is easy, these factors make up something that only the most mentally strong characters are capable of doing. That is why it is important for every team to have a penalty specialist. With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT has taken this opportunity to give the very best in the business their flowers by ranking the 10 highest-scoring penalty-takers in football history.

10 Ronaldinho

Penalties scored: 70

Known for being one of the more skilful players the game has seen, Ronaldinho could also be a practical choice when doing the more mundane things like stepping up from 12 yards. For all his incredible solo efforts that made people stand up and applaud, the Samba icon also had an impressive record from the spot that helped boost his stats tremendously.

While he certainly wasn't flawless, missing 17 in his career - including one at Wembley Stadium against England - the Brazilian found the net on 70 occasions in his time as a professional. There are also four other recorded examples from his days in youth football, meaning that Ronaldinho was relied upon from a very early age.

9 Alan Shearer

Penalties Scored: 73

If you want someone to take a no-nonsense penalty and smash it into the roof of the net, then look no further than Alan Shearer. The Premier League legend was very rarely about poise and finesse, but still scored a bucket load of goals with his fierce strike of a ball, whether it be from 12 yards or 30.

In terms of an overall record, the Englishman is far superior to his Brazilian counterpart, who fell just short of him, tucking 91% of his efforts home as he missed just seven in his entire career.

8 Alessandro Del Piero

Penalties scored: 77

When looking for one of the very best Italian players to ever grace the pitch, you will often land on Alessandro Del Piero. The Juventus icon won just about all there was to win in his homeland and can even add a World Cup to his list of accolades. Whether it be for the Old Lady, the Azzurri, or Sydney FC during his stint in Australia, Del Piero was frequently the man turned to shoulder the responsibility of taking the penalties.

For good reason too, as the 50-year-old converted 77 times in his career. He even took the second-to-last penalty in the 2006 World Cup final that left the Italians on the brink of glory before Fabio Grosso sealed the deal.

7 Robert Lewandowski

Penalties scored: 83

The first active player on this list, and although Robert Lewandowski is in the latter stages of his career, he has every chance of breaking into the top five before all is said and done. The Polish superstar started out as a defender, but once his knack for goalscoring became obvious, he was expected to find the back of the net in all sorts of situations - including dead balls.

Lewandowski's style of spot kick is slow and deliberate, often forcing a goalkeeper to make their move before he even makes contact with the ball. This has helped him score 83 penalties in his time at clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona. Furthermore, he has missed just 10, giving him an output of an impressive 89%.

6 Francesco Totti

Penalties scored: 86

Just because you score a lot of penalties, it doesn't necessarily make you a fantastic penalty taker. Sometimes it just means that you've had the opportunity to take a lot. One could argue this is the case with Roma hero Francesco Totti, as the former striker has actually missed the third most number of spot kicks since 2001 alone.

That being said, the one-club man did put away enough to make it worthwhile. With a record of 81.1%, the Italian stallion scored 86 of his career penalties, with all but two coming for his club side.

5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Penalties scored: 87

There are very few figures as imposing or as intimidating as Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The gigantic Swede could do things on a football pitch that defied his size, but also had a nasty streak that meant you most certainly did not want to cross him. He brought that same ruthlessness every time he placed the ball down on the penalty spot, often keeping his efforts low and hard, out of the goalkeeper's reach.

Of his 87 successes, one of his most famous came for AC Milan against city rivals and former club Inter. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar berated his former teammate prior to the penalty, only for the ex-Manchester United and PSG man to deliver a brutal response after finding the bottom corner.

4 Roberto Baggio

Penalties scored: 101

The third and final Italian to make this list is none other than Roberto Baggio. The 1993 Ballon d'Or winner actually missed as many penalties as the aforementioned Totti but scored considerably more throughout his playing days.

The former Juventus and Fiorentina man becomes the first on this list to score over a century of goals from the spot, which, fascinatingly, makes up close to a third of his 334 career goals. His first came all the way back in 1984, with his last coming in a completely different millennium as he scored in a 3-1 win for Brescia Calcio against Perugia in 2002.

3 Lionel Messi

Penalties scored: 111

From Copa del Reys to the World Cup final, there is hardly a situation Lionel Messi has been in where he hasn't been entrusted to step up from 12 yards. As one of the greatest players to have ever lived, it is no surprise that the Argentine holds such a fantastic record from the spot. Although, many may not have been aware of just how many he had taken in his career.

The answer is a cool 111, but his conversion rate is all the way down at 78% due to the fact that he has also missed on 31 separate occasions. If anyone ever needed proof that the Barcelona great is human, that may just be the statistic that proves it.

2 Ronald Koeman

Penalties scored: 113

As this list proves, when you think of a great penalty taker, you often think of strikers or attackers. After all, they are the ones who spend the most time practising to find the target. And yet, it is an ex-defender who finishes as runner-up for the most goals from 12 yards, at least for the time being.

Another Barcelona alumni, Ronald Koeman was a defender with a modern-day playing style before his time. Technically sound, the now Netherlands manager was an avid penalty taker. While he scored just two more than Messi's current total, he also missed 23 fewer penalties, showcasing his remarkable consistency. A record like this, with such longevity, gives him an argument for being the greatest penalty-taker of all time.

1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Penalties scored: 167

167. 54 clear of his closest rivals. Critics may call him 'Penaldo,' but you cannot knock his efficiency from 12 yards. Interestingly, one of the more recent sagas in Cristiano Ronaldo's on-field career came after he cried following a missed penalty at Euro 2024. However, the uproar surrounding it was more about the shock that he hadn't scored, rather than anything else.

Ronaldo is a man who loves to break records. While this is one, he already holds, if he was aware of it, there would surely be a small part of him eyeing up 200 penalty goals. The chances of him getting that many more opportunities at this stage of his career are slim, but if you say that the Portuguese can't do something, he will most likely try and prove you wrong.