Lionel Messi preparing for a free kick means terror in the opposing camp. Whatever the distance, delivering a magical goal from a free kick seems to have become a habit of his left foot. Sunday’s match against San Diego for Inter Miami was no exception. With a goal from a free kick, the Argentine superstar has moved closer still to another historic record of his career.
Inter Miami were behind in the 24th minute of that thrilling 2-2 draw in MLS. At that moment the 39-year-old Messi struck a dazzling left-foot shot from just outside the box. The ball went in off the far post. With that goal he completed the 930th goal of his career, of which 75 have come from free kicks alone.
The goal took Messi past the Brazilian Jair Rosa Pinto and into sole second place on the all-time list for free-kick goals. Only another Brazilian legend, Marcelinho Carioca, who tops the list with 78 free-kick goals, now stands between him and the all-time record. He is four goals away from making the record his own.
Most goals from free kicks
| No | Player | Goals | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marcelinho Carioca | 78 | Brazil |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 75 | Argentina |
| 3 | Jair Rosa Pinto | 74 | Brazil |
| 4 | Roberto Dinamite | 73 | Brazil |
| 5 | Juninho Pernambucano | 72 | Brazil |
| 6 | Marcos Assuncao | 68 | Brazil |
| 7 | Sinisa Mihajlovic | 67 | Serbia |
| 8 | Jorge Aravena | 65 | Chile |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 64 | Portugal |
| 10 | Zico | 62 | Brazil |
| 11 | Diego Maradona | 61 | Argentina |