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Cristiano Ronaldo Is Statistically One Of The Worst Free-Kick Takers In Europe

Cristiano Ronaldo Is Statistically One Of The Worst Free-Kick Takers In Europe

He has gone almost 500 days without scoring a free-kick.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

Cristiano Ronaldo has a different mentality to others, striving for greatness at every turn.

He has achieved success in almost all of his ventures, scoring on a consistent basis in Premier League, La Liga and Serie A competitions, while picking up those five Ballon d'Or trophies along the way.

But despite all of his success in front of goal, one certain aspect of his game is far from polished.

Miralem Pjanic, one of the world's best from set-pieces, revealed last year that Ronaldo had taken over the duties as Juventus' number one free-kick taker following his transfer from Real Madrid.

But was it the right decision?

Pjanic was previously Juventus' first choice taker and in the past, he's bagged some absolute screamers from distance, most notably against AC Milan, Genoa and Chievo Verona.

But he handed over the mantle to five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo without much of a fight:

"Cristiano is here now, someone who in the past few years has shown he is best in the world,' he told Juventus TV.

"At first when we trained on free kicks it would either be me or Dybala to take it. Now, it's 100 per cent him. He is a tremendous free-kick taker."

Image: PA
Image: PA

Looking back, It is quite incredible to think that Ronaldo has priority over free-kicks based on his, let's be honest, abysmal record from distance this campaign.

Ronaldo has taken 16 free-kicks for Juventus since the start of the season and has failed to convert even one of those.

In fact, his record is the second-longest run without converting based on players from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga.

Frosinone winger Camillo Ciano comes out on top.

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, has converted seven of his.

The Argentinian has 46 direct free-kick goals in his career, with 12 coming since the start of 2018 - which is more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues on the whole have managed.

He has perfected an iconic technique in years gone by, honing his craft day in, day out.

Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets confirmed in December that Messi is just as consistent in training as he is in games: "Even training he keeps on scoring that high percentage of free-kicks. You can't compare him to any player. He's just the best."

Do you think Juventus should change their free-kick taker in the future?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Football News, Football, Serie A, cr7, Messi, Portugal, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo