Messi closes in on historic free-kick record as Ronaldo sits ninth

Lionel Messi has moved to within two goals of the all-time record for direct free-kick goals, with the Argentina forward now second on the historical list.

Messi has scored 76 goals directly from free-kicks, leaving him behind only Brazilian Marcelinho Carioca, who leads the rankings with 78. The former Brazil player scored the majority of those goals during spells with Brazilian clubs, although he also played for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

Direct free-kicks have long provided some of football’s most memorable moments, particularly when a player scores from distance or deceives both the goalkeeper and defenders. Many of the game’s outstanding free-kick specialists have used the technique to decide matches at crucial moments.

For a period, Cristiano Ronaldo held the advantage over Messi in the number of direct free-kick goals scored. Messi, however, has made significant progress recently and reached 76, moving ahead of Ronaldo.

The season-by-season figures for the two players are:

| Season | Cristiano Ronaldo | Lionel Messi | ||:|:| | 2002-03 | – | 1 | | 2003-04 | – | 1 | | 2004-05 | 0 | 1 | | 2005-06 | 0 | 1 | | 2006-07 | 0 | 5 | | 2007-08 | 0 | 5 | | 2008-09 | 1 | 6 | | 2009-10 | 2 | 7 | | 2010-11 | 1 | 6 | | 2011-12 | 3 | 3 | | 2012-13 | 6 | 6 | | 2013-14 | 4 | 2 | | 2014-15 | 2 | 3 | | 2015-16 | 9 | 4 | | 2016-17 | 5 | 2 | | 2017-18 | 7 | 1 | | 2018-19 | 8 | 1 | | 2019-20 | 5 | 1 | | 2020-21 | 5 | 1 | | 2021-22 | 0 | 2 | | 2022-23 | 4 | 3 | | 2023-24 | 4 | 1 | | 2024-25 | 3 | 0 | | 2025-26 | 3 | 0 | | 2026-27 | 4 | 0 | | Total | 63 | 76 |

All-time direct free-kick rankings

Marcelinho Carioca remains top of the standings, but Messi’s total of 76 has put him within reach of the record. Jair da Rosa is third with 74, followed by Roberto Dinamite on 73.

The list also includes Sinisa Mihajlovic and Juninho Pernambucano, who have both scored 72 direct free-kicks, while Marcos Assuncao has 68.

1. Marcelinho Carioca – 78 2. Lionel Messi – 76 3. Jair da Rosa – 74 4. Roberto Dinamite – 73 7. Sinisa Mihajlovic – 72 5. Juninho Pernambucano – 72 6. Marcos Assuncao – 68 8. Jorge Aravena – 65 9. Cristiano Ronaldo – 63 10. Zico – 62 11. Diego Maradona – 61 12. Rogerio Ceni – 59 13. Ronaldinho – 57 14. Shunsuke Nakamura – 56 15. David Beckham – 53 16. Alessandro Del Piero – 51 17. Franz Binder – 50