Ranking the 12 players with most free-kick goals in football history

#4 Ronaldinho - 66

Ronaldinho Gaucho scored a few memorable free-kicks.

Ronaldinho is another South American free-kick specialist who finds a mention on this list.

His brilliance and trickery with the ball was unmatched, leaving many a world-class defender looking foolish and trailing in his wake. The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner and Barcelona legend scored many memorable free-kicks during his relatively short but eventful career.

Ronaldinho's free-kicks had them all - power, fizz, curl, technique. The Brazilian once scored a memorable pile-driver of a free-kick past a transfixed David Seaman in a World Cup game. Spotting Seaman off his line, Ronaldinho ignored an expectant wall, catching the English keeper napping.

Ronaldinho used a lot of trickery and technique in his free-kicks to keep the opposition guessing. Be it curling the ball over the wall or drilling underneath the swarm of jumping players, the magician could do it all.

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#3 Victor Legrotaglie - 66

Victor Legrotaglie was a free-kick specialist.

Victor Legrotaglie is one of the top free-kick takers in the game, despite being one of the least-known players on this list. But he has scored more free-kicks than some of more illustrious compatriots, like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

The former Argentina international spent his entire playing career in his native country. He stayed put despite receiving offers from the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

The 84-year-old had an eventful two-decade long career, most of which was spent at Gymnastics and Fencing.

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#2 Pele - 70

Pele scored a lot of fine goals in his career.

Pele is widely regarded as the best player to have graced the beautiful game. The Brazilian legend is credited with scoring nearly 1300 goals in his illustrious career for club and country, friendlies included.

Despite his diminutive stature, Pele put many a stronger and taller defender to shame. It goes without saying that the three-time FIFA World Cup winner scored a lot of goals from free-kicks.

Pele mostly used a mix of impeccable technique and pace in his free-kick deliveries, employing little to no swerve. That often left goalkeepers wondering which way the ball would go.

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#1 Juninho Pernambucano - 77

Juninho Pernambucano was a free-kick genius.

While there have been many fine free-kick takers over the years, there's arguably none better than Juninho Pernambucano.

Thanks to the usage of lighter and rounder balls, Juninho employed a wide array of techniques to hit the dead-ball. The Brazilian 'invented' the 'knuckleball' technique of hitting free-kicks, especially for ones from distance. That made the ball swerve in the air unpredictably, leaving goalkeepers often guessing the wrong way.

Analyzing his free-kick technique, the versatile dead-ball specialist has said that it depended on the distance and angle from goal. The free-kicks closer to the box involved less pace and more swerve compared to the ones from further out.

Juninho enhanced his stature as a world-class free-kick specialist during his prolific stint with Olympique Lyon in the 2000s. He scored 44 of his career free-kicks for the Ligue 1 team.