Football's 20 best free-kick takers since 2000 | OneFootball

Highlights

Mastering the art of the free-kick is an extremely useful skill for footballers to have in their lockers. Making yourself dangerous from set-pieces can turn you into an invaluable member of a team - and we've seen that happen with numerous players in the past.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have created some incredibly memorable moments from set-pieces over the years. There have been some sublime free-kick takers throughout football history, but very few truly master it to an elite level. Some have done just that, though, and since the turn of the 21st century there have been some particularly incredible free-kick takers who made set-pieces look almost as easy to convert as a penalty kick.

We've put together a Tiermaker of the 20 best free-kick specialists since the year 2000, and it's stacked with talent. While it proved difficult to separate a number of these names, there's absolutely no debate when it comes to the number one spot, in our opinion.

Can strike a ball

Aleksandar Kolarov, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Wesley Sneijder, Juan Riquelme, Nene

As a full-back, Aleksandar Kolarov is far from a natural goalscorer, but he's often been tasked with set-piece duties during his career. The Serbian rifled home numerous bangers for Manchester City during his time in England and has also notched a handful of free-kick goals on international duty, including a rocket against France back in 2014.

Similarly, Nene, Juan Riquelme and Wesley Sneijder all scored a number of goals from free-kicks. The former bagged 15 times from a set piece, while Riquelme and Sneijder registered 22 and 26 goals respectively. Trent Alexander-Arnold's numbers are not quite as eye-catching, but there's no doubt he's produced some memorable strikes for Liverpool from dead-ball situations. By the end of his career, he could be far higher on this list.

Very impressive

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alessandro Del Piero, Ronaldinho, Dominik Szoboszlai

Ronaldinho needs no explanation. Among all of his incredible skills, of which there were many, he was exceptionally talented at free-kicks. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Del Piero are legends in their own rights and both were fantastic free-kick takers. They all excelled from dead-ball situations.

It might be surprising to see Dominik Szoboszlai ranked this high, but he is a fantastic set-piece specialist. He would regularly find the back of the net from free-kicks for RB Leipzig and, while he hasn't had the opportunity to do so too often for Liverpool just yet, there's still plenty of time for that to change.

Free-kick specialist

Christian Eriksen, Hakan Calhanoglu, Rogerio Ceni, Andrea Pirlo

Many of you may think Andrea Pirlo is in the same bracket as Ronaldinho and co, but the Italian's highlight reel when it comes to free-kicks is just remarkable. From long-range efforts, to inch-perfect curlers – the legendary midfielder simply had it all. He didn't quite convert enough to bump him further up this list, but he's still pretty damn special.

Hakan Calhanoglu is closing in on 30 free-kick goals in his career and the majority have been absolute thunderbolts. At 29 years old, he has plenty of time to keep wracking them up and should go way beyond 30 by the time he calls time on his career. Rogerio Ceni, however, is the only goalkeeper on this list. Remarkably, the Brazilian scored 59 free-kicks throughout his career, all of which came for Sao Paulo. That's impressive for an attacker, never mind a goalkeeper.

Simply outstanding

Dimitri Payet, James Ward-Prowse, Roberto Carlos, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Juninho

Roberto Carlos' famous trivela free-kick for Brazil vs France is widely considered one of the greatest goals ever and that was far from the only thunderbolt the left-back scored. His Brazilian teammate Juninho was also not averse to wonder goals and is known for perfecting the knuckleball technique. The ex-Lyon icon has scored more free-kicks than any other player since 2000 (78), and there are no current professionals that are anywhere near his tally.

Cristiano Ronaldo is another to have scored a plethora of unbelievable free-kicks, but if we're being completely honest, it feels like his success rate has dipped dramatically in recent years. David Beckham became iconic for his incredible ability when it came to free-kicks. His memorable strike for England vs Greece back in 2001 remains one of the most clutch free-kicks ever scored. You don't have a movie named after your ability to strike a free-kick like Beckham did unless you're elite, and he was just that.

Though the names already mentioned are outstanding free-kick takers in their own right, few could do it as consistently as James Ward-Prowse. The Englishman has scored 17 Premier League free-kicks throughout his career and is just one behind Beckham's record. Something he's certain to smash by the time he hangs up his boots.

The Englishman may not be a world-class all-round player, but there's no doubt he's one of the best free-kick takers to ever grace a football pitch. Similarly, Dimitri Payet only stayed in the Premier League for 18 months but still managed to score a number of ridiculously good goals. The Frenchman's free-kick against Crystal Palace back in 2016 is our pick of the lot.

The GOAT

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi may not have the power of Carlos or the knuckleball prowess of Juninho or Ronaldo. Indeed, the Argentine's free-kick tactic is relatively simple. Step up, pick his spot, strike the ball, and more often than not, score! At times, it feels like Messi is so accurate when it comes to free-kicks, it almost feels like he's taking a penalty.

There are too many memorable Messi set-piece goals to count, but if you need any proof of his genius – take a look at the one he scored vs Liverpool in 2018. Even Jurgen Klopp had to smile.

Messi is one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest, and he is talented in a plethora of areas. His ability with free-kicks is one of the strongest, though, without a doubt. For our money, there hasn't been anyone quite as talented as the Argentine in the last 24 years when it comes to free-kicks.