Who is the world’s best penalty-taker? Check out what the stats say as we go through the 50 players with the most penalties scored in the 21st century.
Scoring penalties isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be the loneliest feeling in football standing 12 yards out from the net with all eyes on you, knowing that failure isn’t an option.
To ace these 50-50 situations, where you either score or miss, you need to possess nerves of absolute steal and obviously a talent for scoring from the spot.
If there is one player that everyone wants to take penalties in their team it’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He never loses his cool in decisive moments and is arguably the greatest penalty-taker ever.
So it’s not surprising to see Ronaldo finish top of Transfermarkt’s list of most penalties scored in the 21st century on 114.
The Juventus star may have scored 39 more times than any other player, but he deserves praise for this one. It’s an extraordinary record and proves he’s the man for the big moments.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, is level with Francesco Totti in second-place on 75 penalties. However, he’ll probably move ahead of the Roma legend in the upcoming months.
The 50 players with the most penalties scored
Pos | Player | Penalties |
---|---|---|
1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 114 |
2 | Francesco Totti | 75 |
3 | Lionel Messi | 75 |
4 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 64 |
5 | Frank Lampard | 50 |
6 | Edinson Cavani | 48 |
7 | Steven Gerrard | 46 |
8 | Alessandro Del Piero | 44 |
9 | Ronaldinho | 44 |
10 | Sergio Aguero | 41 |
11 | Antonio Di Natale | 41 |
12 | Robert Lewandowski | 39 |
13 | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 39 |
14 | David Villa | 37 |
15 | Eden Hazard | 36 |
16 | Ciro Immobile | 35 |
17 | Aritz Aduriz | 35 |
18 | Fabio Quagliarella | 34 |
19 | Diego Milito | 33 |
20 | Luis Figo | 33 |
21 | Mario Balotelli | 32 |
22 | Giuseppe Rossi | 32 |
23 | Mark Noble | 31 |
24 | Sejad Salihovic | 31 |
25 | Dani Parejo | 31 |
26 | Wayne Rooney | 31 |
27 | Kaka | 29 |
28 | Danny Murphy | 28 |
29 | James Milner | 28 |
30 | Alvaro Negredo | 28 |
31 | Giampaolo Pazzini | 27 |
32 | Alan Shearer | 27 |
33 | Oliver Monterrubio | 27 |
34 | Pauleta | 26 |
35 | Andriy Shevchenko | 26 |
36 | Leighton Baines | 26 |
37 | Iago Aspas | 26 |
38 | Thierry Henry | 26 |
39 | Alexandre Lacazette | 26 |
40 | Harry Kane | 26 |
41 | Cristiano Lucarelli | 26 |
42 | Samuel Eto’o | 26 |
43 | Neymar | 26 |
44 | Raul Tamudo | 26 |
45 | Arturo Vidal | 25 |
46 | Domenico Berardi | 25 |
47 | Thomas Muller | 25 |
48 | Mikel Arteta | 24 |
49 | Adrian Mutu | 24 |
50 | Robin van Persie | 24 |