Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are two names that are always put on the scale of comparison, but when it comes to the king of the free kick battle, these two superstars still have to stand behind another “king” – Brazilian legend Juninho.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – two of the world’s top football superstars, have had quite different journeys when it comes to free kick ability, especially at major international tournaments such as the World Cup and Euro/Copa America.

Cristiano Ronaldo quickly became famous for his free-kick goals during his early career at Manchester United. His unique ‘knuckleball’ technique became his trademark, with memorable strikes such as his strike against Portsmouth and his long-range strike against Arsenal in the Champions League. In his first five seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo scored 23 free-kick goals, establishing himself as one of the world’s leading free-kick specialists.

The battle to see who is greater between Ronaldo and Messi has always existed. Photo: GOAL.

Lionel Messi, on the other hand, had a rather modest start in this field. By March 2012, when he had become Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer, Messi had only scored 5 goals from free kicks. However, from then on, the Argentine superstar made great strides. He scored 7 goals from free kicks in 2012 alone and maintained an average of 6 goals/year for the next 7 years. The peak was in 2018 when Messi set a personal record of 10 goals from free kicks in a calendar year.

This remarkable turnaround in Messi’s race with Ronaldo has turned the tables. At the end of 2013, Ronaldo had 39 free kick goals compared to Messi’s 14. But from 2017-2019, Messi scored 23 free kick goals while Ronaldo only had 5. Currently, Messi leads with 65 career free kick goals, compared to Ronaldo’s 63.

CR7 only scored 1 goal out of 60 free kicks. Photo: The Mirror.

In major international tournaments such as the World Cup and Euro/Copa America, the gap between Messi and Ronaldo becomes even more evident. In 60 free kicks at the World Cup and Euro, Ronaldo scored only 1 goal, with a success rate of only 1.7%. In contrast, Messi scored 5 goals from 53 free kicks at the World Cup and Copa America, achieving a success rate of 9.4%.

This difference clearly reflects the contrasting development of the two superstars in their free-kick skills. While Messi has become more complete and effective, Ronaldo has tended to decline compared to the early stages of his career. This can be partly explained by the fact that Ronaldo has taken fewer free-kicks in recent years, due to the presence of professional teammates such as Bale, Modric, Pjanic and Dybala.

Messi has successfully taken 5/53 free kicks at the World Cup and Copa America. Photo: Opta Analyst.

However, when it comes to free kicks, it is impossible not to mention Juninho Pernambucano – who is considered the best free kick specialist of all time. In 507 matches of his career, Juninho scored a total of 124 goals, of which 77 were from direct free kicks. Notably, 4 of these goals were made from a distance of 35m or more, a feat that very few players can achieve.

Juninho not only scored many goals from free kicks, but he did so with a unique style and astonishing efficiency. His ability was so highly regarded that some people called him “the first player to score a direct free kick that was more notorious than a penalty.” Juninho’s achievements set a high standard for the generations of players that followed, including Messi and Ronaldo.

Juninho – the nemesis of every goalkeeper on free kicks. Photo: Getty.

The free-kick race between Messi and Ronaldo is a testament to the constant evolution of football. Messi, with his remarkable progress in the second half of his career, has surpassed Ronaldo to become one of the leading free-kick specialists today. However, both still have a long way to go before they can match the incredible achievements of Juninho Pernambucano – the man dubbed the “King of Free-kicks” in the history of world football.