Messi and Ronaldo in top 3 - Which players have missed the most Champions League penalties?

The Champions League has offered up some of the most nail-biting, intense, dramatic scenes in the history of sport since its reformat from the European Cup in 1992. Many games have gone down to the wire, and the elite teams have had little to separate them, meaning the age old conundrum of penalties has often been the deciding factor. 

Since 1992, no less than seven finals have been decided by penalty shootouts, with some of the very best players our game has ever seen, succumbing to the pressure and failing to score from 12 yards. But which players have missed the most penalties in Europe’s elite competition since its reformat?

The players with 3 or more penalty misses in the Champions League

Top of the list are three of the greatest players to have ever played in the historic competition. Coming in at the dreaded number one is former Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry Henry, who holds the shocking record of missing five of the eight penalties he took in the Champions League. All five of those missed penalties came for the Gunners, including a miss against Ajax in the group stage in the season Arsenal made it all the way to the final, where they ultimately lost to Barcelona. The other two players with five missed penalties are the two highest scorers in the history of the competition and a duo with nine Champions League titles between them - Lionel Messi in second with five missed penalties from 23 taken, and Cristiano Ronaldo in third with five missed from 25.

Four players have missed from the spot four times since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992, and they are - former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko in fourth with four misses from 10 penalties, Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann with four missed from 11, ex Manchester United and Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy with four missed from 14, and finally Manchester City legend Sergio Agüero with four misses from 15 spot kicks.

Six more players complete the list with three misses from the all-important penalty kicks. Both Alexandre Lacazette and Radamel Falcao have a 0% strike rate, missing all three penalties they have taken in the Champions League. Dani Parejo has failed to score three of the four penalties he has taken, whilst Eden Hazard has missed three from eight, Thomas Müller has missed three from 11, and finally Luís Figo has missed three from 14.