Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have secured their legacies as two of football’s greatest-ever players. But when it comes to free-kicks, the superstar duo cannot claim to have the same level of dominance.A statistical ranking of the top goalscorers from direct free-kicks has revealed that neither of football’s global icons have made it into the top three, although Ronaldo and Messi are as close as ever in terms of their contributions.Ronaldo has scored just one direct free-kick from his last 90 attempts, dating back to the 2017-18 season when he was at Real Madrid.Barcelona legend Messi, now at Paris Saint-Germain, has been more prolific with a dead ball situation, scoring eight times since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, 34, can hang his hat on the half-century of free kicks he has whipped over the wall in his illustrious career.
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