As one of the most talented forwards in world football, Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil superstar Neymar is often called upon by club and country to take responsibility with penalty kicks.
The South American has shown on a regular basis down the years that he has mastered the art of holding his nerve from 12 yards, but there will always be the odd occasion in which lines are fluffed.
From Santos to PSG via four years at Barcelona and over 100 international caps, what does Neymar’s record from the spot look like? GOAL investigates…
How many penalties has Neymar scored?
Team representing | Penalties scored |
|---|---|
Santos | 11 |
Barcelona | 12 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 23 |
Brazil | 17 |
Total | 63 |
Table correct at time of writing
Having burst onto the scene as a precociously-gifted teenager at Santos, Neymar took his first professional penalty in a meeting with Atletico Mineiro on August 22, 2010.
He successfully converted that effort in a 2-0 win and would find the net with each of his opening five spot-kicks as a senior star – including a first penalty for Brazil when bagging a brace against Scotland at Emirates Stadium in March 2011.
Neymar became a go-to man for Santos and Brazil, with goals registered from 12 yards in domestic competition as well as on Copa Libertadores and Olympic stages.
He faced fierce competition for penalty duty after linking up with Barcelona in 2013 – with Lionel Messi a club colleague at Camp Nou – but did hit the net with 12 spot-kicks for the Blaugrana.
Prior to being reunited with Argentine icon Messi at PSG in the summer of 2021, Neymar was the favoured option for Ligue 1 heavyweights when they required a reliable option on penalty duty.
He netted his first for them against Auxerre in September 2017, shortly after completing a record-breaking €222 million (£190m/$257m) transfer, and has scored 23 spot-kicks for them in total.
Neymar is up to 17 successful penalties for Brazil and will believe there are many more opportunities for him to come as he looks to help his nation to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022.
His overall record from the spot has seen him find the target on 63 occasions and counting.
How many penalties has Neymar missed?
Team representing | Penalties missed |
|---|---|
Santos | 3 |
Barcelona | 6 |
Paris Saint-Germain | 3 |
Brazil | 3 |
Total | 15 |
Table correct at time of writing
While Neymar has shown a useful knack of hitting the net from 12 yards, he is not without fault and can spurn gilt-edged chances at times.
He only failed with three spot-kicks while at Santos, with the first of those misses coming against One Caldas in May 2011.
Only three failures have been endured with Brazil, and only one of those – in a World Cup qualifying clash with Paraguay in March 2017 – came in a competitive fixture.
Neymar spurned six penalties while with Barcelona, with a couple of those coming against Roma and Manchester City in the Champions League, but he tended to step up in big wins for the Blaugrana.
A further three efforts have failed to find the target since moving to France, with his most recent spot-kick considered by many to have been the worst he has taken.
Having decided to favour a staggered run up, Neymar proceeded to roll the tamest of efforts into the arms of Alban Lafont on February 19, 2022 without the Nantes goalkeeper having to move very far before dropping onto the ball.
Neymar will be eager to make amends as soon as possible for his only failure in a losing cause, with there now 15 missed penalties on his professional CV.
