GOAT? 😅 Lionel Messi has officially surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick record after scoring from a direct set-piece in Argentina's win this morning. SLInt MORE:
The 35-year-old started on the bench in the 2021 Copa America winners' victory over Jamaica, but scored yet another brace after being introduced as a second-half substitute.
His goals came within three minutes of one another towards the end of the match, including a free-kick strike that saw him bring up his 59th goal from direct dead-ball situations for club and country. Messi has thus now surpassed Ronaldo's free-kick record, with the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus talisman having so far racked up 58 set-piece goals in his career since arriving on the scene.
This also means no other active footballer has been more accurate from free-kicks than the Argentina captain, who is now just three away from equalling Diego Maradona's record tally of 62. Brazil icon Juninho Pernambucano, widely considered as the greatest dead-ball specialist of all time, still leads the ranking after scoring 77 free-kick goals.1. Juninho - 77