So, Lionel Messi doesn't make the top 20 best free-kick takers in Europe. Well, according to the numbers courtesy of data company STATS.
Barcelona's Argentine maestro produced another magical Camp Nou moment over the weekend, bagging a sublime free-kick as his side recorded yet another La Liga victory while keeping their unbeaten league record in tact.
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But while Messi is a deadball specialist, he's not featured in the best free-kick takers.
STATS have crunched the all-important numbers on every FK taker around Europe since the start of the 2013/14 season.
Also, it's current players who must've had at least 20 attempts on goal from a free-kick.
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Here's their findings:
20. Suso (AC Milan)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 22 - Success rate: 13.64%
20. Gael Kakuta (Amiens)
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Goals: 3 - Attempts: 22 - Success rate: 13.64%
20. Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 22 - Success rate: 13.64%
17. Wayne Rooney (Everton)
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Goals: 4 - Attempts: 29 - Success rate: 13.79%
16. Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 21 - Success rate: 14.29%
15. Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
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Goals: 4 - Attempts: 28 - Success rate: 14.29%
14. Zlatko Junuzovic (Werder Bremen)
Goals: 5 - Attempts: 35 - Success rate: 14.29%
13. David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
Goals: 6 - Attempts: 42 - Success rate: 14.29%
12. Miralem Pjanic (Juventus)
Goals: 11 - Attempts: 76 - Success rate: 14.47%
11. Markus Suttner (Brighton)
Goals: 4 - Attempts: 27 - Success rate: 14.81%
10. Mauricio Lemos (Sassuolo)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 20 - Success rate: 15%
10. Henri Saivet (Newcastle)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 20 - Success rate: 15%
10. Sejad Salihovic (Hamburg)
Goals: 3 - Attempts: 20 - Success rate: 15%
7. Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin)
Goals: 6 - Attempts: 37 - Success rate: 16.22%
6. Federico Viviani (SPAL)
Goals: 5 - Attempts: 30 - Success rate: 16.67%
5. James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich)
Goals: 6 - Attempts: 36 - Success rate: 16.67%
4. Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)
Goals: 4 - Attempts: 22 - Success rate: 18.18%
3. Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona)
Goals: 5 - Attempts: 26 - Success rate: 19.23%
2. Paulo Dybala (Juventus)
Goals: 8 - Attempts: 38 - Success rate: 21.05%
1. Juan Mata (Manchester United)
Goals: 5 - Attempts: 22 - Success rate: 22.73%
So, there you have it - United's Spanish midfielder is the best free-kick taker via STATS' findings.
What's your take? Let us know.
(H/T Give Me Sport)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Free-kick, Lionel Messi