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Players With Best Penalty Conversion Rates In History

The penalty kick in football is often seen as a guaranteed goal, a moment of almost certain celebration for the attacking team. From twelve yards out, with only the goalkeeper to beat, the odds seem overwhelmingly stacked in the taker’s favour. However, the penalty taker needs to deal with the pressure, remain calm and composed, and finish the penalty off by beating the keeper to secure the goal. This task can end up being much harder than what people imagine it to be. This article talks about the players who have taken more than 40 penalties and who have the best penalty conversion rates in the history of football.

Players With the Best Penalty Conversion Rates

Credit: These Football Times

15. Harry Kane – 89%

Harry Kane is an English professional footballer who has played as a striker throughout his career. He spent most of his career playing for Tottenham Hotspur and currently plays for Bundesliga side Bayern Munich. Kane has taken a total of 100 penalties in his career and scored 89 of them, which puts his penalty conversion rate at 89%.

14. Robert Lewandowski – 89.8%

Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional striker known for his time in the Bundesliga. He has played for two of the biggest German clubs, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, but currently plays for Barcelona’s La Liga side. Lewandowski has taken a total of 98 penalties throughout his career and has put away 88 of them at a penalty conversion rate of 89.8%.

12. Rogerio Ceni – 90.6%

Rogerio Ceni was a Brazilian footballer who played as a goalkeeper throughout his career. Despite being a goalkeeper, Ceni was known for both his penalty-saving and penalty-scoring skills. Rogerio Ceni spent nearly his entire career playing for Sao Paulo, playing for them from 1993 to 2015. During this time, Ceni dispatched a total of 58 of the 64 penalties he took at a penalty conversion rate of 90.6%.

12. Mario Balotelli – 90.6%

Mario Balotelli was an Italian professional striker who played for various prestigious clubs throughout his career, including Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan, and Liverpool. Balotelli was known for his not giving a shit attitude, which probably helped him be cool, calm, and collected while taking his penalties. Balotelli took a total of 54 penalties during his career and scored 48 of them at a penalty conversion rate of 90.6%.

11. Bruno Fernandes – 90.8%

Bruno Fernandes is a Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world, Manchester United. The midfielder is known for his brilliant penalty-taking skills, and he has taken penalties for Novara, Udinese, Sporting, Portugal, and Manchester United. Fernandes has taken a total of 65 penalties in his career and has managed to dispatch 59 of them at a penalty conversion rate of 90.8%.

10. Marco van Basten – 91.1%

Marco van Basten was a Dutch professional striker who spent his entire football career playing for two teams, Ajax and AC Milan. He played for Ajax from 1981 to 1987 and for AC Milan from 1987 to 1995. Marco van Basten scored 51 of the 56 penalties he took during his career. This makes his penalty conversion rate an impressive 91.1%.

9. Alan Shearer – 91.3%

Alan Shearer is an English professional striker who is regarded as one of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen. He played for just three teams throughout his career, namely Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Shearer took a total of 80 penalties throughout his career and scored 73 of them, making his penalty conversion rate 91.3%.

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8. Gaizka Mendieta – 91.4%

Gaizka Mendieta was a Spanish star who played midfield from 1992 to 2008. The talented midfielder played for various teams throughout his career, namely Castellon, Valencia, Lazio, Barcelona, and Middlesbrough. Mendieta was a brilliant penalty taker and scored 32 of the 35 penalties he took during his career, making his penalty conversion rate 91.4%.

7. Michael Ballack – 93.6%

Michael Ballack was a German professional footballer who played as a midfielder throughout his career. He played for some very prestigious clubs during his playing career, including Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea. Ballack took a total of 31 penalties throughout his career and scored 29 of them, which makes his penalty conversion rate 93.6%.

6. Rickie Lambert – 94.4%

Rickie Lambert was an English professional striker who played for a plethora of teams throughout his career, namely Blackpool, Macclesfield Town, Stockport County, Rochdale, Bristol Rovers, Southampton, Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion, and Cardiff City. Lambert took a total of 54 penalties and scored 51 of them at a conversion rate of 94.4%.

5. Ivan Toney – 95.2%

Ivan Toney is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli. He has played for Northampton Town, Newcastle United, and Brentford and has spent a lot of time on loans at various clubs. He is known for his penalty-taking technique, as he takes a penalty without actually looking at the ball. His current penalty conversion rate is 95.2%, and he scored 40 of the 42 penalties he has taken in his career.

4. Michel Platini – 95.7%

Michel Platini was a French professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder throughout his career. He played for just three teams in the entirety of his career, namely Nancy, Saint-Etienne, and Juventus. Platini took a total of 46 penalties in his career and managed to score 44 of them, which puts his penalty conversion rate at a very impressive 95.7%.

3. Danny Murphy – 96.8%

Danny Murphy was an English professional footballer who played for various teams throughout his career, including Liverpool, Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham, and Blackburn Rovers. He was known for his impressive penalty-taking skills, and he ended his career having scored 30 of the 31 penalties he took, ending with a conversion rate of 96.8%.

1. Ferenc Puskas – 97.7%

Ferenc Puskas was a Hungarian professional footballer who is regarded as one of the best attackers of all time. The talented forward played for just two teams in the entirety of his career, namely Budapest Honved and Real Madrid. Puskas, who has a goal-scoring award named after him, took 43 penalties in his career and scored 42 of them, making his conversion rate an extremely impressive 97.7%.

1. Matt Le Tissier – 97.7%

Matt Le Tissier was an English attacking midfielder who was known for his incredible penalty-taking skills. While he played for Eastleigh and Guernsey, his only real football career was spent representing Southampton from 1986 to 2002. Matt Le Tissier ended his career with a penalty conversion rate of 97.7%, scoring 43 of the 44 penalties he had taken in his career.

For more news articles and informative updates on such statistical football articles as well as other football and cricket updates, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com.

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