Lionel Messi continues to score, doing so in one of his most trademark ways: the free kick. This weekend, the Argentine legend scored a stunning goal to open the scoring in Inter Miami‘s 2-2 draw against San Diego FC in MLS.
With his performance at Nu Stadium against the California side, Lionel Messi now has 75 career free-kick goals, placing him in second place in soccer history for the statistic, with only one player having scored more.
Brazilian footballer Marcelinho Carioca is the all-time leader in free-kick goals with 78, achieved with clubs like Flamengo, Corinthians, and Santos in his native country. However, that mark is now well within reach for the Argentine star, as Messi is just three free-kick goals away from tying him and four from passing him.
Greats surpassed by Messi
Until recently, Messi trailed other Brazilian greats like Roberto Dinamite, Juninho Pernambucano, and Jair Rosa Pinto, who also surpassed 70 free-kick goals.
Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF celebrates.
The historic list features massive names: Roberto Dinamite with 73 free-kick goals, Juninho Pernambucano with 72, Marcos Assuncao with 68, Sinisa Mihajlovic with 67, and Jorge Aravena with 65.
However, throughout this season, Messi has surpassed them during a campaign filled with free-kick goals, making it a regular expectation whenever Inter Miami play. It appears to be the best phase of his career — or one of the best — in this specific skill.
Messi’s race to 1,000 goals
Beyond his pursuit of Marcelinho Carioca, Messi also reached an incredible milestone with his goal against San Diego, hitting 930 total official goals in his career.
That total is currently the second-highest in soccer history, trailing only Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, who is also chasing 1,000 goals with 979 strikes to date.
Key takeaways
- 75 career free-kick goals were reached by Lionel Messi against San Diego FC.
- 78 free-kick goals make Marcelinho Carioca the all-time leader in soccer history.
- 930 total official goals trail only Cristiano Ronaldo’s 979 career strikes.
