Guess Lionel Messi’s first goal for Inter Miami? Well, it was a free-kick he netted last year in his debut game of MLS Leagues Cup vs Cruz Azal. The crowd was in sheer disbelief after that happened. Looks like the Argentinian never lost his mojo as fast forward to today, he managed to ignite a similar atmosphere in the stadium, by netting yet another remarkable free-kick during the regular season clash vs Columbus Crew.

Interestingly, this crucial goal that came in the stoppage time of the first half not only helped him bag a brace but also surpassed the career freekick record of his own club owner and England icon David Beckham. This makes us wonder where exactly Messi stands on the list of the highest free-kick goal scorers.

In numbers, Lionel Messi’s second goal against Columbus Crew was his 66th free-kick goal. This recent milestone not only helped him surpass Beckham’s career record of 65, but it also saw the Inter Miami skipper equal the record of his former Barcelona teammate Ronaldinho and Argentinian legend, Victor Legrotaglie. But mind you, this doesn’t put the 37-year-old close to the top, as he still has a long way to go to reach the numero uno spot.

Juninho Pernambucano, the former Brazilian sensation, holds first place with a tally of 77 free-kick goals. Behind him is another Brazilian icon, the late Pelé, who scored 70 free-kick goals in his illustrious career. Given that all the top three contenders—Juninho, Pelé, Legrotaglie, and Ronaldinho—are retired, this makes Messi the only active player with the highest number of free-kick goals.

Following the former PSG superstar is none other than his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who shall be noted as the second active free-kick top scorer with a tally of 64. However, the Portuguese player ranks fifth when considering non-active soccer players as well, putting CR7 just one free kick behind Beckham and two behind Messi.

On the contrary, if La Pulga decides he wants to be remembered as the highest free-kick scorer, the legendary No. 10 forward would require 11 goals similarly he did today in the regular MLS fixture. It would be interesting to see if Messi is up for this challenge. For now, let’s take a closer look and see which teams he scored the majority of his free kicks for.

Exploring all the career free kicks scored by Lionel Messi

Considering that Lionel Messi spent most of his career at Barcelona, it’s clear that the majority of his free-kick goals were scored for his childhood club. Speaking of numbers, the 8x Ballon d’Or winner scored 50 direct free kicks for Barcelona. His first one came during the 2008/09 season in a La Liga match against Atlético Madrid, which his side won 6-1. Meanwhile, his last free-kick goal for Barça was scored in the 2020/21 season during a 2-3 triumph over Valencia in a La Liga fixture.

During his two-year spell with Paris Saint-Germain, the veteran scored just 2 direct FK goals, both of which came in his final season with the Parisians. In fact, the second one proved clinical as Messi scored it in the dying minutes of the game to make the score 4-3 against LOSC Lille and help the French giants win the Ligue 1 title. A similar was witnessed again here at Inter Miami, scoring a beautiful curler in the dying moments of their Leagues Cup match against CD Cruz Azul.

Then his second goal came against FC Dallas last season, before scoring his third free-kick goal today against Columbus. Meanwhile, on the international front, he has netted 11 direct free-kicks for Argentina.