Top 10 set-piece takers in Europe

#5 Lionel Messi

One of the two standout players of this generation, Lionel Messi has made free-kick taking an art. A threat from any angle and any distance, Messi has often scored some spectacular curling free-kicks at crucial intervals.

in 2017 January, the Argentine had become so good with his dead ball abilities, that he scored 3 free-kicks in 3 successive matches (against Bilbao, Villarreal and again against Bilbao).

Capable of going over the wall or curling into the top corner to the same side as the goalkeeper, Messi's varied and effective set-pieces have time and again proven to be the difference in crucial matches. One of Messi's free-kicks for Argentina in the Copa Centenario was even nominated for the Puskas award last year.

Sit back and enjoy the genius of Lionel Messi.

About the author

A Bengaluru lad through and through, Ashwin Hanagudu is a huge fan of Liverpool and unsurprisingly pledges his sworn allegiance to RCB in the IPL. With over 8+ years of experience in this field, Ashwin manages multiple verticals at Sportskeeda and as of July 2024 is the most-read author in the football section.

Apart from his duties at Sportskeeda, Ashwin Hanagudu is also an active table tennis player and has played multiple state ranking and national tournaments representing Karnataka.

A huge sports fan, some of the athletes and sportspersons he admires in no particular order are Virat Kohli, Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu

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Edited by Ashwin Hanagudu