Cristiano Ronaldo sets unwanted record with 34 penalty misses

Portugal and Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo, one of football’s most accomplished goal scorers, now holds a record he would rather avoid. Following his missed penalty against Ireland on Saturday—saved by Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher—Ronaldo now has the highest number of penalty misses in football history.

According to Planet Football on Monday, his total number of missed spot-kicks has risen to 34.

While the figure is striking, it comes with important context: Ronaldo has taken more penalties than any other player on record (211) and successfully converted 177 of them, maintaining a strong 83.8 percent success rate—well above the average.

In the modern era, here are the seven players with the most penalty misses:

7. Ronaldinho – 16 misses
   The Brazilian legend recorded an 81.1% conversion rate but still makes the list with 16 missed penalties. One of his most memorable misses came against England in 2013, when Joe Hart produced an excellent double save.

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 17 misses
   Ibrahimovic converted 87 penalties and missed 17, with a success rate of 83.6%. His accuracy dropped after returning to AC Milan in 2020, converting only half of his 12 penalties during his final four seasons.

5. Ciro Immobile – 19 misses
   Immobile recently surpassed Ibrahimovic after missing two of his last seven penalties for Besiktas. Out of 105 spot-kicks, he has scored 86 and missed 19, giving him an overall rate of 81.9%.

4. Francesco Totti – 20 misses
    Totti was highly reliable from the spot in his later years. He went four and a half seasons without missing, converting his last 13 penalties before retiring. In total, he scored 86 out of 106.

3. Neymar – 22 misses
    Known for his composure under pressure, Neymar has still missed a fair number of penalties. Out of 113 taken, he has scored 91, with a conversion rate of 80.5%. Since rejoining Santos, he has scored both penalties he’s taken. During his PSG tenure, he netted 28 of 31, a 90.3% success rate.

2. Lionel Messi – 32 misses
    Messi previously held the record for the most penalty misses before being surpassed by Ronaldo. Despite penalties not being his strongest area, his 77.9% conversion rate remains slightly above average. He has taken 145 penalties, scoring 113 and missing 32. Since joining Inter Miami, he has often let teammates take spot-kicks.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 34 misses
    Ronaldo has missed four of his last 16 penalties in the past year, giving him the record for the most penalty misses in football history. His latest miss came against Ireland, when Caoimhin Kelleher saved his effort from 12 yards.

Despite this unwanted record, Ronaldo also holds the record for the most penalties scored (177) and the most taken (211) in football history, maintaining an impressive 83.8% conversion rate overall.