Lionel Messi has moved into second place on the all-time list of direct free-kick scorers after a prolific 2026, overtaking several legendary specialists and extending his lead over longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi now has 75 direct free-kick goals in his career, while Ronaldo has 63. The Argentine’s six free-kick goals in 2026 have taken him past Brazilian greats Juninho Pernambucano, Roberto Dinamite and Jair.
Messi is now three goals behind former Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho Carioca, who leads the list with 78 direct free-kick goals.
The development represents a significant turnaround from earlier in Messi and Ronaldo’s careers. In 2017, Messi had scored 34 direct free-kick goals compared with Ronaldo’s 53.
A Yahoo Sports article published that year carried the headline, “One of the records that Messi will never dare to break of Ronaldo,” reflecting the sizeable gap between the two players at the time.
Messi subsequently refined his free-kick technique and steadily closed the gap before moving ahead of Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, now 41, sits ninth on the all-time list with 63 goals. He could still overtake Jorge Aravena, Siniša Mihajlović and Marcos Assunção, who have 65, 67 and 68 goals respectively.
According to Planet Football, the leading direct free-kick scorers in football history are:
- Marcelinho Carioca — 78
- Lionel Messi — 75
- Roberto Dinamite — 73
- Juninho Pernambucano — 72
- Marcos Assunção — 68
- Siniša Mihajlović — 67
- Jorge Aravena — 65
- Cristiano Ronaldo — 63
- Zico — 62
- Diego Maradona — 61
- Rogério Ceni — 59
- Ronaldinho — 57
- Shunsuke Nakamura — 56
- David Beckham — 53
- Alessandro Del Piero — 53
With Messi still active and continuing to score from set pieces, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is now three goals away from matching Marcelinho Carioca’s long-standing record.
