Another free kick! How far is Messi far from his historical free kick goal record?

Messi once again demonstrated his magical skills! In the 2025 Club World Cup Miami International vs. Porto, the Argentine superstar helped the team reverse the victory with an iconic left-footed arc free kick, scoring his 68th direct free kick in his career. This goal also took him a step further from the first place in history.

For many years, Messi has been the player with the most direct free kicks in Argentina football. But if you look at the world, he is currently tied for fifth place with Brazilian legendary star Ziko, and occupies sixth place in the historical free kick goal list.

So, who is the king of this technology field? Let's take a look at this authoritative list:

Historical free kick goals ranking (as of June 2025)

Player name Number of free kick goals

Macelinho Carioca 78

Roberto Dinamit 75

Joninho 72

Marcos Assonsan 69

Zico) 68

Messi 68

Mihailovic 67

Van Hoytonk 65

Cristiano Ronaldo 63

Diego Maradona 61

Rogerio Cheney 59

Ronaldinho 57

Messi is only a "ten steps away" from the record

Currently, the top spot is Brazilian legend Marcelinho Carioca, who scored 78 free kicks in his career, most of which were completed during his time at Corinthian. Messi has now scored 68 goals, only 10 goals behind.

Considering that Messi is still in the peak form and still frequently gets set pieces in the frontcourt during the game, the gap between these 10 goals is completely possible to be caught up or even surpassed.

What are the legendary figures in the free kick world?

In addition to the above, there are many free kick art masters on the list:

Mikhailovic: Serbian legend, famous for its precise guidance;

van van Hoydonk: Dutch striker;

Ronaldinho and Maradona: two kings of football from different eras are also on the list;

Cheney: an alternative representative of goalkeepers.

With every appearance at Miami International, Messi is constantly setting records. Today, the Argentine superstar is no longer far from being the player with the most free kick goals in history. Fans are looking forward to the arrival of that day.