There was a time when many football fans believed Alexandre Pato was a Ballon d'Or winner in the making.

The Brazilian striker signed for AC Milan from Internacional as a teenager back in 2007 and he quickly adapted to life in the Italian top-flight.

In his first four Serie A seasons, Pato netted 50 goals in 102 appearances and finished as Milan's top scorer in their 2010/11 league-winning campaign.

But it all went a bit downhill in Europe for the the now 31-year-old after that, with injuries taking their toll.

The following two seasons saw Pato play only 15 Serie A games for Milan and in that time, he managed just one goal.

So in 2013, he returned to his native Brazil with Corinthians and the striker did at least manage to score a few goals that year.

In fact, Pato netted nine in 30 appearances for the club, although arguably his most famous moment from the year he made his comeback in Brazilian football had nothing to do with goalscoring.

Pato with Brazil

Sadly for the 2009 Golden Boy Award winner, the incident in question was a penalty miss in a Copa do Brasil semi-final shootout versus Gremio.

Pato was asked to beat former Milan goalkeeper Dida from 12 yards in order to keep Corinthians' hopes in the competition alive.

But instead of putting his foot through the ball like most would in such a high-pressure situation, Pato attempted a 'Panenka' and it went horribly wrong.

Take a look for yourself...

Video: Pato's shocking penalty

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Ouch. Is there a sadder sight in football than a 'Panenka' harmlessly floating through the air and then landing in a goalkeeper's gloves? We're struggling to think of one.

Pato didn't let his horror show from the penalty spot derail his stint in Brazilian football too much, though.

He went on loan to Sao Paolo in 2014, where he scored an impressive 38 goals in all competitions across two years.

Pato then had a brief, uneventful spell at Chelsea, before joining Spanish side Villarreal for the 2016/17 season.

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It didn't really work out for him in La Liga, so the Brazilian opted to join Chinese Super League side Tianjin Quanjian, where he was absolutely electric.

Pato can currently be found in MLS with Orlando City, where a serious knee injury has severely limited his game time up until now.

We hope he makes a full recovery as soon as possible.