Messi Moves to Second on All-Time Free-Kick Scorers List, Ronaldo Ninth
Lionel Messi has moved into second place on the all-time free-kick goals list after scoring six direct free-kicks in 2026, taking his career total to 75. The Argentine has now overtaken Brazilian greats Jair, Roberto Dinamite and Juninho Pernambucano, who have 74, 73 and 72 goals respectively. Messi is now just three goals behind record holder Marcelinho Carioca, who leads the ranking with 78 free-kick goals. His rise marks a significant turnaround from earlier in his career, when Cristiano Ronaldo held a sizeable advantage. In 2017, Messi had scored 34 free-kicks compared with Ronaldo’s 53, with the gap at the time appearing difficult to close. However, Messi's improvement from set pieces, particularly during his thirties, has seen him steadily reduce the deficit and eventually move well ahead of his long-time rival.
Ronaldo, now 41, sits ninth on the all-time list with 63 direct free-kick goals. The Portuguese forward remains within reach of Jorge Aravena, who has 65, as well as Siniša Mihajlović and Marcos Assunção, on 67 and 68 respectively. The ranking is led by Marcelinho Carioca on 78, followed by Messi on 75, Jair on 74, Roberto Dinamite on 73 and Juninho Pernambucano on 72. Assunção has 68, Mihajlović 67, Aravena 65 and Ronaldo 63, while Zico has 62 and Diego Maradona 61. Rogério Ceni follows with 59, ahead of Ronaldinho on 57, Shunsuke Nakamura on 56, David Beckham and Alessandro Del Piero on 53 each, and Franz Binder on 50. With Messi still active, his current tally puts him within three goals of the long-standing record.
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