Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Juninho, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Carlos, Football
Adnan Riaz
Topics: Juninho, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Roberto Carlos, Football
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
