The popular online publication GiveMeSport has published a ranking of the 12 best penalty takers in the history of football.
Marco van BastenThe top three is opened by legendary English forward Alan Shearer. The top scorer in the history of the English Premier League took 78 penalties during his career, converting 72 of them (conversion rate — 92%).
In second place with a conversion rate of 93% is the iconic Dutch forward Marco van Basten. A three-time Ballon d’Or winner, he had to say goodbye to football at the age of 30 due to injuries, but before his career ended, he successfully took 55 penalties, converting 51 of them.
The best penalty taker in football history is recognized as Englishman Ricky Lambert. This forward never achieved star status, as the only major club in his career is 'Liverpool', where he played for just a year, but Ricky was always skilled at taking penalties — he scored 51 goals from the 11-meter mark out of 54 attempts. This means that Lambert's penalty conversion rate is 94%.
Interestingly, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, often criticized for his high number of penalty goals, did not even make it to the top five. He converted 85% of his attempts (169 out of 200), which leaves him only in 10th place in the ranking.
Top 12 best penalty takers in football history (at least 50 attempts):
