After the match between Inter Miami and FC Porto, Messi has had 68 free kicks in his career. Before that, El Pulga also reached the milestone of 112 successful penalties. Since 2010, the number of goals scored on the free kick by M10 has been more than the 11m shots he scored. The Argentine superstar is only behind Pele and Juninho in the list of best strikers in history.
In domestic competitions alone, Messi has scored 43 goals from free kicks. This is a result achieved after 491 performances (accuracy rate 8.8%). According to Opta, this figure is much higher than the average of about 5.5% of the top 5 European championships in the past 15 years.
In contrast, M10's penalty success rate is 80%. This is the same ratio as players in the top 5 European championships in the same period mentioned above. This can temporarily confirm that Messi has a better free kick than most of his colleagues who are playing at the top in Europe.
Looking at Messi's recent success on the free kick, then looking back at his past when he was just starting to play at the top, fans can see how classy the "Atoms of the Galaxy" are. When he first started to step up to the light in Barcelona's shirt, Messi did not have the opportunity to be free because at that time Ronaldinho was monopolizing this right.
Messi's first free kick in La Liga was at Camp Nou against Mallorca in the 2006-2007 season. At that time, the ball went quite poorly, like a cross to the right corner of the goal rather than a dangerous shot. It was not until mid-2012 that he took 50 free kicks in the domestic league. However, since then, M10 has become Barcelona's main performer.
Messi's first free kick goal was in 2008-09 against Atletico Madrid. It was not until the 2017-2019 season that his scoring frequency increased when he was in front of the penalty spot. That season, Messi scored 5 goals from free kicks, this number gradually increased over the next 2 seasons.
By 2020, fans began to recognize El Pulga as a long-range striker. He tends to succeed in free kicks in the central area right outside the penalty area. 10% of M10 shots came from this area. When in a good position, Messi has 22% of his shots towards the top right corner of the goal.
Although he tends to shoot the ball to the right more, Messi's important goals will be level in both directions. Remember in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League 2018-2019 semi-final, M10's sad free kick sent the hooked ball straight into the upper left corner of Liverpool's goal, helping Barca defeat their opponent 3-0 in the first leg at home.
When he left Barcelona in 2021, Messi's frequency of scoring from free kicks decreased but did not have to end it completely. He has only scored 2 goals from free kicks in a rather poor season with PSG. Most recently, Messi only scored 1 goal from a free kick for Inter Miami last season.
However, Messi is still the top scorer in the open era. Since 2010-11, he has scored 39 goals from free kicks. This is the most in Europe's top five leagues, more than double his most recent opponent, Cristiano Ronaldo (19).
