5 active players with the most free-kick goals

Modified Oct 12, 2020 21:25 GMT

Miralem Pjanic (left), Lionel Messi (top right) and Cristiano Ronaldo (bottom right) have scored a lot of free-kick goals.

#3 Miralem Pjanic - 26 goals

Miralem Pjanic has scored some outrageous free-kicks during his time in Serie A.

Despite netting an identical number of free kicks as Calhanoglu, the Bosnian international Miralem Pjanic is ranked higher in this list due to his superior record in recent times compared to the Turk.

He had to share set-piece responsibilities with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paolo Dybala at Juventus, but Pjanic boasts a better free-kick record in Bianconeri colours than both players.

Pjanic, who is now at Barcelona, may have to alternate free-kick duties with Lionel Messi, but given his stupendous conversion rate, he should endear himself to the Blaugrana faithful because of his set-piece prowess.

The 30-year-old has scored 22 free-kick goals in his club career, with another four coming for his national side. Interestingly, 68% of his career free-kick goals have come in the last five years, which makes him one of the best in the business right now.

#2 Lionel Messi - 53 goals

Lionel Messi has scored 21 free-kick goals for club and country in the last three seasons alone.

Lionel Messi wasn't a natural free-kick scorer. It's a skill he picked up later and has now perfected to the extent that no one can hold a candle to his dead-ball prowess.

The diminutive Argentine has been the best in scoring free kicks for a while now, not just for the staggering rate at which he dispatches them but also for the sheer quality of his strikes.

Remember that 35-yard stunner against Liverpool last year? Or that long-ranger against the USA in 2016, or even that crazy in-swinger against Real Madrid in 2012? We can go on and on and on, for there are so many more!

Of the 53 free-kick goals Lionel Messi has scored, a staggering 47 have come unsurprisingly for the Blaugrana while the rest have come in Argentinian colours.

A free kick for Messi is like a penalty for any other player 🎯pic.twitter.com/prDfWdNx4R
— Goal (@goal) May 31, 2020

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#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - 57 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the premier free-kick takers, but his prowess seems to have dwindled in recent years.

Cristiano Ronaldo's prowess at set-pieces has, unfortunately, declined over the years, but he still ranks atop this list largely due to his past exploits.

It is one of his rare attributes that hasn't aged well. His recent free-kick stats make for sorry reading. Yet the Portuguese star's legacy from dead-ball situations will shine bright in football history.

Famous for popularising the knuckleball, Ronaldo has scored some absolute belters in the past, including his recent strike against Sweden that brought up his 100th goal for the Seleccao.