Messi sets a massive milestone, Ronaldo struggles to reach it

Following his double for Inter Miami in the 2026 MLS campaign, Lionel Messi has risen in the all-time standings for free-kick scorers, with Cristiano Ronaldo also contending on this list.

In football history, there are few records where Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not directly competing. After Messi's classy free-kick in the match between Inter Miami and Orlando City, the Argentine superstar reached a memorable career milestone.

Specifically, his stunning goal against Orlando City brought his career free-kick tally to 70. This achievement places Messi close to the top three players of all time, all of whom are currently Brazilian. Notably, five names in the top 10 greatest free-kick specialists in history hail from the land of Samba.

According to data from journalist Silvio Maverino, Cristiano Ronaldo currently ranks 9th with 63 free-kick goals. The Portuguese superstar is two goals ahead of Diego Armando Maradona, as the late Argentine legend holds the 10th spot.

Also per these sources, Marcelino Carioca is the player with the most free-kick goals in football history. The former Brazilian star, who retired after the 2009 season, scored 78 free-kick goals out of his total 304 professional goals.

Currently, Messi is only 8 goals behind Carioca's record. If he scores 9 more free-kicks, he will solely occupy the all-time number one position. Therefore, whenever Inter Miami earns a free-kick near the box, Messi moves a step closer on his journey to conquering this new milestone.

For Cristiano Ronaldo, the challenge is greater. The Al Nassr player currently trails Carioca's achievement by 15 free-kick goals. Nevertheless, with his relentless drive to conquer, Ronaldo will certainly continue to hope to improve his ranking.

List of the greatest free-kick takers in football history

• Marcelino Carioca(Brazil): 78 free-kick goals
• Roberto Dinamita (Brazil): 75 free-kick goals
• Juninho Pernambucano (Brazil): 72 free-kick goals
• Lionel Messi(Argentina): 70 free-kick goals
• Marcos Assuncao (Brazil): 69 free-kick goals
• Zico (Brazil): 68 free-kick goals
• Sinisa Mihajlovic (Serbia): 67 free-kick goals
• Pierre van Hooijdonk (Netherlands): 65 direct free-kick goals
• Cristiano Ronaldo(Portugal): 63 free-kick goals
• Diego Maradona (Argentina): 61 free-kick goals