Last night (February 19), Messi scored a beautiful free kick in the 90’+5 minute, bringing a 4-3 victory for PSG against Lille in the 24th round of Ligue 1. The 35-year-old striker played. struggled throughout the match, but at the pivotal moment that decided the outcome of the match, he spoke up.
According to statistics from Squawka, Messi has now scored 40 goals from outside the box since the beginning of the 2017/18 season until now. This is at least 20 goals more than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues (England Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1).
Notably, 22 of the 40 goals mentioned above came from direct free kicks – a truly staggering number. The second person after Messi in terms of goals scored from outside the box since the 2017/18 season is Kevin De Bruyne of Man City with … 20 goals, which is only half of Messi.
Everyone knows how excellent and appreciated De Bruyne is. However, when put on the scale with Messi, the Belgian midfielder really becomes too small.
In addition, in terms of goals scored from direct free kicks since the 2017/18 season, Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse is behind Messi with 16 goals. Ward-Prowse is considered a master of free kicks, but also has to accept being ranked below Messi.
Through these numbers, it can be seen how Messi is different from the rest. When taken apart, world football has many amazing names. However, it all seems to be different if compared to Messi.
