A penalty seems the easiest way of scoring for any player in football. However, it is one of the most difficult things in the game. From the outside, it may look easy but it takes a lot to score from the spot on such big occasions. The player needs to have a strong mental state to succeed under pressure. Even the biggest stars of the game make blunders on those occasions. In this article, we are going to look at the top 5 players who have missed the most penalties in their career.

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Top 5 Players who have missed the most penalties in their career

5. Antonio Di Natale - 15

**Di Natale is fifth on this list with 15 missed penalties**

Antonio Di Natale, the former Italian striker is fifth in this list. His entire club career was spent playing for the Italian club Udinese where he scored 258 goals in 606 matches. Natale was a poacher, a beast inside the box but he struggled with penalties and had a poor record. Out of 58 penalties he took, he missed 15.

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 16

**Ibrahimovic has missed 16 penalties in his career | Image: Getty**

Zlatan Ibrahimovic who played almost in every big club and showed he was one of the best to ever play the game is fourth in this list. He played in almost every top league in the world and scored an ample amount of goals in his career. The forward was ruthless in front of the goal and could score goals by any means. But, he missed out on 16 occasions from the spot.

3. Francesco Totti - 20

**Francesco Totti has missed 20 penalties in his career**

Francesco Totti was an absolute legend of the game and gave his everything for AS Roma and Italy. He scored 250 club goals during his 25-year career before hanging up his boots in 2017. He is a prime example of royalty as he refused to play for other big clubs when he was at the peak of his career. However, Totti missed 29 penalties out of 106 throughout his career and that's the reason he is third on this list.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo - 30

**Ronaldo missed the 30th penalty of his career in the game against Slovenia | Image: Getty**

Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction. Everyone knows what he has achieved in his professional footballing career until now. The Portuguese star still makes headlines every now and then. For his teams, he has always been the first-choice set piece and penalty taker because he is a big-moment player who knows how to react on important occasions. However, more chances also bring more misses. He has missed a total of 30 penalties out of 194 attempts. His most recent miss came in the UEFA Euro 2024 when he had the chance to win the game for his nation against Slovenia.

1. Lionel Messi - 31

**Lionel Messi after missing the penalty against Poland in the 2022 World Cup | Image: X**

The record eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi who has already completed football by winning accolade possible with his clubs and country is at the top of this list. He is considered one of the greatest ever and has proved those claims whenever he plays. The Argentinian rarely drops a poor performance as he is still so good. However, Messi's only thing that has given the doubters question him is his penalty-taking ability. However, he has proven himself many times from the spot. Out of 140 attempts, Leo has missed out on 31 occasions.

Tag: Francesco Totti

Top 5 Players who have missed the most penalties in their career

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