NO MESSI OR RONALDO: ROBERTO CARLOS NAMES THE THREE BEST FREE-KICK TAKERS OF ALL TIME

Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo rank among the best free-kick takers of all time, according to Brazil legend Roberto Carlos.

The Brazilian full-back was something of a free-kick expert himself, having scored a whopping 49 free-kicks throughout his career.

During an interview with GOAL in 2017, these were the three players that Carlos named when asked about the greatest free-kick takers of all time.

David Beckham

Carlos played alongside Beckham for four years at Real Madrid and saw firsthand just how good he was at dead-ball situations.

“I’ve watched the way he [Beckham] shoots carefully, and it’s amazing. His technique is impressive,” Carlos said in a separate interview.

“He can put the ball wherever he wants. Even better than me.”

Throughout his career, Beckham scored an impressive 65 free-kicks and made a name for himself as a set-piece specialist.

For context, Beckham has scored one more free-kick than Ronaldo, although CR7 still has time to tie level with Beckham’s record yet. In the case of Messi, he’s scored 68 free-kicks as of writing, three more than Beckham.

Regardless of the stats, it’s hard to argue against Beckham’s inclusion on this list, given the sheer volume of iconic free-kicks that he scored throughout the years.

Zinedine Zidane

Carlos also played alongside Zidane at Real Madrid and included him on his list of elite free-kick takers.

While the Frenchman doesn’t have the same free-kick catalogue as someone like Beckham, he was a genius from dead-ball situations.

In total, he scored 31 free-kick goals during his career, although it’s worth remembering that he wasn’t always the main set-piece taker in the teams he played for.

Carlos was lucky enough to witness Zidane close up and we can only imagine how good he was in the training ground.

Perhaps his most memorable free-kick was against England back in Euro 2004 when his stoppage time strike sparked a late comeback.

Diego Maradona

Alongside two of his former teammates, Carlos also named Maradona as one of the greatest free-kick takers of all time.

For club and country, the Argentine forward scored an impressive 62 free-kicks, which ranks him among the most deadly set-piece takers of all time.

Like many who grew up in the eighties, Carlos considers Maradona as the greatest of all time, so it’s no surprise that he made the cut for this list.

Perhaps more surprising than Messi and Ronaldo’s exclusion from this list is the omission of Pele and Juninho Pernambucano.

Pele scored a whopping 70 career free-kicks and Juninho technically ranks as the best free-kick taker of all time, given the sheer scale of his catalogue.

In total, Juninho scored 77 free-kicks for club and country, which is more than any other player on this list and more than any other player in football history.

READ NEXT: Comparing Lionel Messi’s free-kick stats with Cristiano Ronaldo’s record

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the top 15 free-kick scorers in Premier League history?

2025-07-05T07:11:14Z