The best free-kick takers ever
Lionel Messi? Good at free-kicks? Who’d have thought it?!
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Our list of the best free-kick takers ever comprises some of the game’s biggest stars ā and some considerably less household names.
Thierry Henry takes a free-kick for Arsenal, 2005
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32. Thierry Henry
Up there with the very best players in world football during the first decade of the 21st century, Thierry Henry amassed 226 goals for Arsenal alone ā including 174 in the Premier League.
Roberto Carlos takes a free-kick for Brazil during the 1998 World Cup final against France
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31. Roberto Carlos
In terms of conversion rate, Roberto Carlos was not the most devastating free-kick taker ā but when he did find the net with one, it tended to be pretty spectacular.
Marcos Assuncao takes a free-kick for Palmeiras, 2011
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30. Marcos Assuncao
Capped 11 times by Brazil, midfielder Marcoc Assuncao spent the prime years of his career in Europe with Roma and Real Betis.
Rivaldo scores from a free-kick for Olympiacos against Liverpool, 2004
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29. Rivaldo
There wasnāt much Rivaldo couldnāt do with the ball at his feet ā and the Ballon dāOr-winning Brazilianās fantastic free-kick ability was just another facet of his world-class game.
Andreas Brehme scores from a free-kick for West Germany against France at the 1986 World Cup
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28. Andreas Brehme
Andreas Brehme memorably notched West Germanyās 1990 World Cup final winner from the penalty, but the goal-fond left-back was also one of the best free-kick takers of all time.
Gheorghe Hagi takes a free-kick for Romania against Bulgaria at Euro 96
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27. Gheorghe Hagi
Romaniaās greatest ever player and up there with the best in the world during the 80s and 90s, Gheorghe Hagi scored his fair share of impressive free-kicks.
James Ward-Prowse takes a free-kick for Southampton, 2023
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26. James Ward-Prowse
Pep Guardiola knows a thing or two about football, and he once described James Ward-Prowse as āthe best free-kick taker I have ever seenā ā some statement coming from a man who coached Lionel Messi.
Zinedine Zidane scores from a free-kick for France against England at Euro 2004
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25. Zinedine Zidane
Around the turn of the 21st century, Zinedine Zidane was probably the best footballer on the planet ā and there werenāt many better free-kick takers than him.
Jose Luis Chilavert takes a free-kick for Paraguay, 2001
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24. Jose Luis Chilavert
No goalkeeper has ever scored at the World Cup ā but legendary Paraguay custodian Jose Luis Chilavert came seriously close to making that particular bit of history on a couple of occasions.
Michel Platini scores a free-kick for France against Spain in the Euro 1984 final
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23. Michel Platini
Surely Europeās finest footballer of the 80s, Michel Platini was the first player to win the Ballon dāOr three years running.
Juan Roman Riquelme takes a free-kick for Boca Juniors, 2011
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22. Juan Roman Riquelme
An all-time great in the playmaker role, Juan Roman Riquelme was a set-piece specialist who dispatched his fair share of free-kicks for club and country.
Teofilo Cubillas in action for Peru against Poland at the 1978 World Cup
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21. Teofilo Cubillas
Peruās best ever player and one of the finest to come out of South America, Teofilo Cubillas combined playmaking prowess with top-notch set-piece ability.
Former Corinthians player Marcelinho Carioca, pictured in 2018
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20. Marcelinho Carioca
A regular goalscorer straight from free-kicks ā with some estimates placing his career tally close to 100 ā Brazilian midfielder Marcelinho Carioca enjoyed great success with Corinthians around the turn of the century, helping them to Club World Cup glory in 2000.
Cristiano Ronaldo takes a free-kick for Manchester United, 2006
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19. Cristiano Ronaldo
Scorer of arguably the best greatest free-kick in Premier League history ā a postage-stamp, borderline physics-defying effort for Manchester United against Portsmouth in 2008 ā Cristiano Ronaldo has never shied away from a set-piece goal opportunity.
Juan Arango takes a free-kick for Borussia Monchengladbach, 2010
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18. Juan Arango
Widely regarded as Venezuelaās best player of all time, Juan Arango spent a decade in Europe, making 195 appearances for Mallorca and 171 for Borussia Monchengladbach.
Andrea Pirlo takes a free-kick for Italy against Costa Rica at the 2014 World Cup
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17. Andrea Pirlo
The gold standard in metronomic playmaking, Andrea Pirlo spent his career stroking the ball around with mesmerising, inimitable grace.
Pierre van Hooijdonk takes a free-kick for Feyenoord against Rangers, 2002
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16. Pierre van Hooijdonk
Towering centre-forwards donāt tend to excel at scoring directly from free-kicks, but Pierre van Hooijdonk was among the best in the world in that regard during the 90s and 00s.
Rogerio Ceni takes a free-kick for Sao Paulo, 2013
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15. Rogerio Ceni
No goalkeeper in the history of football has scored nearly as many goals as Rogerio Ceni, the eccentric Brazilian shot-stopper who, when not keeping the ball out of his net, stuck it in the oppositionās 129 times.
Roberto Baggio takes a free-kick for Italy against Chile at the 1998 World Cup
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14. Roberto Baggio
Winner of both the Ballon dāOr and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993, Roberto Baggio established himself as one of the greatest players of all time with his regular brilliance for Juventus, Italy and more.
Gianfranco Zola takes a free-kick for Chelsea, 1998
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13. Gianfranco Zola
Ok, Italy have had quite a lot of players capable of making full use of free-kicks, and Gianfranco Zola was one of the very best in that respect.
Pele scores a free-kick for Brazil against Italy to open the scoring in the 1970 World Cup final
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12. Pele
You didnāt think Pele would be a bad free-kick taker, did you? Of course āO Reiā could be relied upon to put the ball down and find the net.
Didi, pictured in 1960
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11. Didi
A World Cup-winning teammate of Peleās at the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, Didi etched his name into football history by invented the āfolha secaā (āfalling leafā) technique ā aka knuckleball.
Ronaldinho takes a free-kick for Brazil, 2006
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10. Ronaldinho
Whether he was bamboozling David Seaman from 40 yards or curling it in from much closer to goal, Ronaldinho was a goal threat whenever he placed the ball down for a free-kick.
David Beckham takes a free-kick for England, 2003
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9. David Beckham
Plenty tried to bend it like Beckham, but no one was David Beckham, Englandās set-piece king of the 90s and 00s.
Alessandro Del Piero prepares to take a free-kick for Juventus, 2004
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8. Alessandro Del Piero
Up there with the best players Italy has ever produced and among the finest in the world at his peak, Alessandro Del Piero scored 52 free-kick goals over the course of his career (52 at club level and six for his country), an Italian record.
Shunsuke Nakamura scores from a free-kick for Japan, 2009
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7. Shunsuke Nakamura
One of the best Asian footballers of all time, Shunsuke Nakamura is a legendary figure in the history of the Japanese national team ā and Celtic, where he spent four memorable years from 2005 to 2009.
Diego Maradona takes a free-kick for Argentina against England during the 1986 World Cup quarter-final
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6. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona scored his most famous goals from open play, but Argentinaās āGolden Boyā was a simply superb free-kick taker.
Lionel Messi prepares to take a free-kick for Barcelona, 2013
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5. Lionel Messi
The greatest footballer of all time is not the greatest free-kick taker of all time, but heās still an absolute artist in those circumstances.
Zico takes a free-kick for Kashima Antlers, 1993
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4. Zico
By one estimate, Zico scored 101 goals directly from free-kicks ā and the sensational Brazilian midfielderās free-kick ability was such that that figure is eminently believable.
Sinisa Mihajlovic scores from a free-kick for Inter, 2004
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3. Sinisa Mihajlovic
One of the great goalscoring defenders, the late Sinisa Mihajlovic was blessed with an extraordinary ability to score from distance ā which he showed off time and time again from free-kicks, netting a Serie A-record 28 goals directly from them.
Ronald Koeman scores the winning goal for Barcelona in the 1992 European Cup final against Sampdoria at Wembley
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2. Ronald Koeman
As attack-minded as defenders get, Ronald Koeman possessed a horse-like kick which he used to maximum effect as go-to free-kick taker for club and country.
Juninho Pernambucano takes a free-kick for Lyon, 2007
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1. Juninho Pernambucano
Top spot was never in any doubt as far as weāre concerned; Lyon icon Juninho Pernambucano is a class apart in the art of free-kick taking.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open…
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