Man United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is rated higher than Lionel Messi for his free kicks. The Portuguese was a demon set piece taker although his free kicks have been a bit less effective in the recent years. Still his record speaks for himself as he has scored 58 career free kicks.
Ronaldo has scored the most free kicks in the history of Champions League and he also has the most free kicks in International Football. Ronaldo’s free kick range is also much more higher than Messi as the Portuguese has scored free kicks from a higher distance as compared to the Argentine.
The The Top Tens website published a list of the Best Free Kick takers in Football history. The fans voted for the greatest free kick takers of all time and here’s how the list turned out.
1. Juninho
Former Brazilian footballer Juninho got the number 1 spot with 15% of the votes. Juninho’s free kicks record speaks for himself as the Brazilian has scored a record 77 free kicks.
2. David Beckham
Former England International David Beckham takes the second spot with 10% votes. Beckham’s free kicks are known by the phrase “bend it like Beckham.”
3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo ranks 3rd in the list with 9% of the votes. Ronaldo’s free kick range and versatility is perhaps the greatest in the game.
4. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona is arguably Argentina’s greatest ever player and the former World Cup winner ranks at number 4th with 7% of the votes.
5. Roberto Carlos
Former Brazilian International Roberto Carlos ranks 5th with 6% of the votes. Roberto Carlos’ famous free kick against France is arguably the greatest free kick ever scored.
6. Sinsa Mihajlovic
Former Serbian International Sinsa Mihajlovic ranks 6th with 5% of the votes. His free kick hattrick vs Sampdoria was the highlight of his free kick taking abilities.
7. Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho is the 3rd Brazilian in the list and he ranks 7th after securing 5% of the fans votes. Ronaldinho’s free kick range was exceptional and he could score from anywhere.
8. Steven Gerrard
Former Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard was a dead ball specialist and the Englishman ranks 8th with 4% of the votes.
9. Lionel Messi
The Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is 9th in the list after receiving 3% of the votes. Messi’s beautiful curls on his free kicks make him deadly from the dead ball.
10. Andrea Pirlo
Former Italy International Andrea Pirlo completes the Top Ten with the 10th place after getting 3% votes. Pirlo took free kicks as if they were penalties and his accuracy from the set pieces was immaculate.