Free kicks or set pieces are one of the most effective methods to score a goal. However, it has been found to be the hardest as well – all betting sites will offer you long odds on a free kick being scored. Bet it from outside the box or 30 yards from the box, free-kicks are definitely one of the most beautiful things to watch in football when done correctly. In this exclusive article, today we will list the player with the most free-kick goals in football history. You can also find sports betting on the Bluechip Casino website
This is definitely a regular question asked in football quizzes. To give your answer it is Juninho Pernambucano from Brazil who has scored the most free-kick goals.
Whenever one discusses any football record, you can not leave Messi and Ronaldo out of it. At least, the fans can not leave it out. So, who has scored the most free-kick goals? Messi or Ronaldo?
Lionel Messi has overtaken Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of the most free-kick goals scored. Messi now has 62 free-kick goals, whereas Cristiano has 60 free-kick goals.
If we break down the records of both Messi and Ronaldo- Messi has only 5 Champions League goals from the dead ball and Ronaldo has 12. But, Messi gets the edge over Ronaldo in the all-time club numbers. Although every Messi-Ronaldo stats in terms of scoring from the dead ball is neck to neck.
Premier League is said to be one of the toughest places to play football. Many greats have failed in the premier league, however many have flourished in the league as a legend of the game.
David Beckham has scored the most goals by free-kick in Premier League history. He has scored as many as 18 times from the dead ball in his Premier League career.
Here is the list of players with the most free-kick goals in the Premier League-
Read Also: Most Free-Kick Goals In Premier League
Known as the magnificent 7, Juninho was the best when it came to scoring from a dead-ball situation. The former Olympique Lyonnais legend and mid-fielder scored as many as 77 goals from set-pieces. Juninho is considered the greatest free-kick taker of all time. He was also the inventor of the knuckle-ball technique shoots as well.
The king of football, Pele has scored 70 goals from set pieces. Pele could bend the ball both ways with fierce power. Moreover, his immense game knowledge to out-think the goalkeeper helped him net the ball more often than not.
The Argentine from the 1970s is considered to be the greatest player in Mendoza football. Along with his stunning shooting ability, Victor was known for his 12 Olympic Goals for Argentina as well. There is a stadium named after him in Argentina.
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The magician from Brazil was brilliant from any position. Ronaldinho had everything. Hence, having the skill to net the ball from e a distance was in his armoury as well. Ronaldinho had scored 66 goals from set-pieces in his career.
The famous phrase, "Bend it like Beckham" suggests how good Beckham was when it came to scoring from a free-kick. Beckham has a total of 65 goals from set-pieces in his career. His free-kick to take England to the 2002 FIFA World Cup is still cherished as one of the best moments in English football.
The legend of Argentine football is one of the best in the history of the game. Maradona scored nearly 20% of his career goals with free-kicks. His free-kick against Juventus for Napoli is known as the 'Divine Free-Kick'. Diego scored 62 goals from set pieces in his career.
Brazilian legend Zico scored 62 free-kick goals in his career. He was very accurate in his shooting skills. Zico is considered one of the world's best players of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The attacking midfielder was very accurate with his kicks. Along with his accuracy, his languid run-up was very famous in his era.
Read Also: Defenders who won Ballon d'Or award
There is hardly any football top 10 attacking list or records where you will not find the Argentine maestro named Lionel Messi. Although, before 2014, Messi was not considered as prolific from the dead ball, he has just proved everyone with his free-kick record since then. Till now, with his first goal for PSG from the dead ball, Messi has scored 62 free-kick goals. 52 of those have come for clubs he has played and 9 for Argentina. More than that, Messi now has scored a free-kick in every 16.4 match, which speaks volumes for his accuracy from the dead ball position.
The former Barcelona player and manager is known as one of the highest-scoring defenders of all time. The Dutch defensive midfielder also had his share of success with Ajax. Koeman has scored nearly 25% of his goals with free-kicks. He is one of the high-scoring defenders in his era. Koeman scored 215 goals in his career.
Everyone who has played football has tried the Cristiano Ronaldo-style free-kick at least once in their life. The Portuguese legend is one of the best shooters in the game and has a unique style for scoring those goals from dead balls. Ronaldo's long-range free kicks are a treat to watch. To date, Ronaldo has scored 60 free kicks of which 49 are for the clubs that he has played and 11 for Portugal. Even after playing over 1000 games, Ronaldo scores a free-kick goal in every 19.3 games.
To the shock of everyone, Ceni was a goalkeeper and he has scored 59 goals from dead-ball situations in his career. Ceni is the highest-scoring goalkeeper in the history of the game. He has scored 131 goals in his career. Except for one goal, all of them came from penalties and free-kicks. The Brazilian played for 25 years, most of that for São Paulo.
Marcelinho is nicknamed "Pé-de-Anjo" for his accuracy with free-kicks. The attacking midfielder from Brazil has collected more trophies with Corinthians than any other player in their history. However, Marcelinho failed to feature in any World Cup matches for Brazil. Marcelinho has 505 goals in his career.
Note: The stats are updated till 24/3/2023
