The 20 Players Who Have Scored Most Free-Kicks This Century Have Been Revealed, Lionel Messi Only Ranks At No 4
Juninho Pernambucano ranks ahead of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham as the player who has scored the most club free-kicks in the 21st century.
The Brazilian dead-ball specialist is widely revered as one of the best free-kick takers of all time, with Juninho leaving fans in awe at his brilliance.
PopFoot compiled the data and found that Juninho scored an incredible 74 times from the free-kick spot in his club football career.
The 47-year-old Lyon legend’s goalscoring free-kick haul puts him well clear of the competition, with Brazilian former goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni ranking second with 59.
“I was always great at shooting, but as a child, I didn’t have enough power to score free-kicks,” Juninho told FourFourTwo.
“I played futsal until I was 13 and didn’t really score much, but it was around then that I started to take some free-kicks.
“The wall was too close, though, so it was rare that I’d hit the goal. It wasn’t until I got to France that I mastered my technique.”
Ronaldinho completes the trinity of Brazilian dominance in the free-kick rankings, with the former Barcelona superstar plundering 55 goals from the dead ball.
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Hot on the heels of Ronaldinho is former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi, who took home the fourth spot with 50 club goals from free-kicks.
Ronaldo is three shy of Paris Saint-Germain superstar Messi at 47 goals, while Manchester United legend Beckham scored 43 times from free-kicks and finished sixth.
Posted below are the top 20 players who have scored the most free-kicks in their club careers this century, according to PopFoot.
20. Dimitri Payet (Marseille): 14
19. Robert Skov (Hoffenheim): 15
18. Nene (Vasco da Gama): 15
17. Christian Eriksen (Brentford): 16
16. Daniel Wass (Atletico Madrid): 16
15. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan): 18
14. Aleksandar Kolarov (Inter Milan): 19
13. Miralem Pjanic (Barcelona/Besiktas): 21
12. Juan Roman Riquelme (retired): 22
11. Hakan Calhanoglu (Inter Milan): 25
10. Wesley Sneijder (retired): 26
9. Roberto Carlos (retired): 27
8. Andrea Pirlo (retired): 30
7. Alessandro Del Piero (retired): 37
6. David Beckham (retired): 43
5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United): 47
4. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain): 50
3. Ronaldinho (retired): 55
2. Rogerio Ceni (retired): 59
1. Juninho Pernambucano (retired): 74
Topics: Juninho, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Carlos, Football
Adnan Riaz