How Messi left Ronaldo in the dust in terms of free kick ability?

With a beautiful free kick against Porto in Inter Miami's win on the morning of June 20 (Vietnam time), Messi raised his total number of free kick goals in his career to 68.

Messi scores against Porto - Photo: REUTERS

Lionel Messi just scored another great free kick in Inter Miami's 2-1 win over Porto, bringing his total number of goals from direct free kicks in his career to 68.

With this achievement, Messi has officially widened the gap with Cristiano Ronaldo - who currently has 64 free kick goals - to 4 goals.

Notably, Messi's breakthrough has mainly occurred in the past 10 years. From 2015 to now, Messi has scored 53 goals from free kicks, of which the 2015-2019 period was the most brilliant period when he maintained 5 to 10 goals per season.

In the 2018–19 season alone, Messi scored 10 goals from free kicks. In contrast, Ronaldo – once famous for his “knuckleball” free kicks – has slowed down significantly, especially since leaving Real Madrid.

During his time at Juventus and his return to Man United, Ronaldo only scored a few goals from free kicks and was often no longer given this responsibility.

Messi's 68 free kicks also helped him rise to 3rd place in the list of best free kick takers in history.

Juninho Pernambucano is still leading the way with 77 goals, followed by Pele with 70. Messi has now surpassed David Beckham (65), Ronaldinho and Victor Legrotaglie (66). At the same time, he has left Ronaldo far behind - who is being questioned about his ability to maintain his free-kick form at the age of 39.

Unlike the powerful shots of Ronaldo or Roberto Carlos, Messi conquers world football with his skillful shots, the ball flies in a perfect curve and often passes over the fence with precision down to the millimeter.

Statisticians say Messi has the highest free-kick conversion rate in the modern era, and is almost unrivaled since 2015.

Another interesting point is that since 2010, Messi has scored more goals from free kicks than from penalties. During this period, Ronaldo has scored 25 goals from free kicks, 5 times more than Messi.

As the number one free-kick taker at Inter Miami, Messi can completely surpass the 70-goal mark this year and even get close to Juninho's record.

From being far behind Ronaldo in the number of free kick goals, Messi had a spectacular "sprint", not only surpassing his rival but also entering the ranks of the greatest free kick takers in football history.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/messi-da-cho-ronaldo-hit-khoi-ve-kha-nang-da-phat-nhu-the-nao-20250620073251621.htm