Lionel Messi Scores 50th Free-Kick Of His Career With Sublime 35-Yard Strike

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi scored a magnificent 35-yard free-kick to put his side 3-1 up against Real Valladolid.

The 32-year-old Argentine superstar stepped over the ball in the 33rd minute and had no problem beating the four-man wall in his way.

Messi superbly lifted the ball over the wall and his incredible strike effortlessly beat Real Valladolid shot-stopper Jordi Masip into the left-hand side of the net.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has now scored 50 free-kicks in his career, 44 of which came with Barcelona and six for Argentina.

And fans wasted no time flocking to social media to praise Messi's brilliance from set pieces.

Barcelona opened the scoring early on at the Camp Nou as Barca captain Messi crossed the ball into the area and Clement Lenglet's effort went in off the underside of the bar.

But the defending Spanish champions were dealt a blow from a free-kick as Marc-Andre ter Stegen fumbled to clear the ball and Kiko pounced on the loose ball.

Barcelona bounced back from Valladolid's equaliser when Messi effortlessly chipped the ball into the path of Arturo Vidal, who poked the ball past Masip.

Ernesto Valverde's men take a 3-1 lead going into the second half.

Full-time result: Lionel Messi completed his brace in the second half before setting up Luis Suarez to complete Barcelona's 5-1 thrashing of Real Valladolid.

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Real Valladolid, La Liga, Camp Nou

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9