10 Players That Have Scored Most Penalties Since 2000

There are very few things in football that invite pressure, quite like stepping up and taking a penalty. Whether it’s in the Champions League or down on the lower leagues of the sport, staring down the opposition goalkeeper, surrounded by the cheers and jeers of supporters and trying to score from the spot is very intense and it isn’t for the faint-hearted or those who are prone to crumbling under the brightest lights.

There have been multiple occasions over the years when the pressure was clearly too much for certain stars and it got to them. Others, though, are a natural from the penalty spot. Some players have incredible records from spot kicks, very rarely missing. Now, a complete record of the 10 players to score the most penalties in the 21st century has been revealed with some interesting names included.

10

Dusan Tadic

85 penalties

Former Southampton and Ajax star Dusan Tadic has been scoring from the spot throughout the majority of his career and is still hitting the back of the net on a fairly regular basis with UAE Pro League club Al Wahda. In terms of the percentage of his overall goals that were penalties, though, no one has a higher percentage than Tadic.

33% of the goals he has scored over the course of his 17 years on the football pitch have been converted from the penalty spot. That’s a significant chunk of his 259 goals.

9

Ciro Immobile

86 penalties

Coming in at number 9 on 86 penalties is Ciro Immobile. The 35-year-old, who is currently plying his trade in Italy with Bologna, has been scoring goals for fun throughout his career. Known most for his prolific run with Lazio, he’s found the back of the net 365 times during his time on the pitch.

Just over a quarter of them were scored from the penalty spot, with 24% of his overall goal tally being spot-kicks. It is a fine return for the Italian who is not showing any signs of slowing down despite his advancing years.

8

Francesco Totti

86 penalties

A man known for his immense loyalty, Francesco Totti spent his entire career representing AS Roma and he scored plenty of goals for the club along the way. For both club and country, he converted 86 penalties in total, which made up over a quarter of his full return in front of goal.

Throughout his career, the Italian hit the back of the net on 572 occasions, with 27% being from the spot. It’s the second highest percentage of penalty goals in terms of overall return on this list. Beloved by Roma fans for his services over the years, it’s easy to see why.

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7

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

87 penalties

Known more for his bold personality and incredible self confidence, it can be easy to forget that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was actually a very good footballer and he always backed up his words with impressive performances on the pitch. No one has praised the Swede more than he has over the years, but he’s earned it and very rarely faultered at the penalty spot.

Over the years, he scored 87 spot-kicks for the likes of AC Milan, Manchester United and Barcelona. They made up 15% of his total goal return, with Ibrahimovic scoring 572 times over the course of his 24-year career.

6

Robert Lewandowski

88 penalties

Just one penalty ahead of Ibrahimovic is another striker who has aged like a fine wine, scoring plenty of goals well into his late 30s and that’s Robert Lewandowski. No matter where he’s played, the goals have followed and he’s still playing at an extremely high level for Barcelona at the age of 37.

With a career total of 701 goals, only 13% of Lewandowski’s tally has actually come from the penalty spot. It’s scary to think about how many more goals he might have scored if he’d have been regularly taking more penalties throughout his career with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and now Barcelona.

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5

Neymar

91 penalties

Three ahead of Lewandowski is Neymar. The Brazilian has also converted from the spot 91 times over the years. First bursting onto the scene at Santos, he shone with the Brazilian club, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team.

He has scored 445 goals throughout his career, with 20% of them coming from penalties. Having spent a large portion of his career playing alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, Neymar could have taken even more penalties otherwise.

4

Harry Kane

96 penalties

As England and Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time leading goalscorer, Harry Kane is no stranger to penalties and has been converting from the spot throughout his entire career. He’s been a goalscoring machine over the years and has taken that impressive form to Germany now that he’s a Bayern Munich player.

With 491 career goals, 20% of Kane’s total came from spot-kicks. There have been few players quite as prolific as him in the last few years, but it’s ultimately led to very little success in terms of silverware. Now at Bayern, though, he’s broken his trophy duck and is set to win many more in the future.

3

Lionel Messi

114 penalties

Considered the greatest footballer of all time, Lionel Messi is also one of the most prolific goalscorers from the penalty spot during the 21st century. The Argentine is significantly ahead of Kane in third place with 114 spot-kicks scored throughout the 21st century. Whether it was for Barcelona, PSG, Inter Miami or Argentina, he’s never had much difficulty scoring from the spot, but penalties make up just 13% of his incredible record in front of goal.

While he’s scored 114 penalties, Messi has hit the back of the net on 892 occasions over the years and there’s no one quite like him.

2

Hulk

119 penalties

Five penalties ahead of Messi and in second place is Hulk. The forward, known for his incredible blend of blistering pace and brutal strength, never quite made it to the top of football. Despite being a big fan favourite over the years, he never played in one of Europe’s top five leagues, but always did a job wherever he went.

That includes from the penalty spot, where Hulk scored 119 goals. That makes up 27% of his total return, with the Brazilian scoring 447 times throughout his career. His impressive return pales in comparison to number one on this list, though, who has dwarfed his numbers.

1

Cristiano Ronaldo

179 penalties

As the top scorer in football history, it is only natural that Cristiano Ronaldo managed to bang in a big chunk of his impressive return from the penalty spot. His composure with spot kicks has ensured that he’s regularly his team’s chief penalty taker, no matter where he’s playing and he’s ultimately scored 179 times from the set-piece throughout his career.

That’s a massive jump up from second place. Some fans have accused Ronaldo of relying on penalties at times, but with 952 total goals over the years, only 19% of the Portuguese superstar’s return has come from the spot. Interestingly, though, he also has the most penalty misses since 2001.

All statistics courtesy of PopFoot and accurate as of 08/11/2025