Messi widens the gap against Ronaldo

Lionel Messi scored from a free-kick situation in the match against New York City, thereby continuing to maintain his advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of free-kick goals in 2026.

Lionel Messi scored a goal from the penalty spot in Inter Miami's comeback victory against New York City, with a shot that went under the barrier and had a slight touch but still sent the ball into the net. In the comparison with his greatest rival, Messi continues to widen his advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo in this statistic in 2026.

As of the current point in 2026, Messi has scored two free-kick goals and raised his total in this category to 71, while Ronaldo has yet to score any from similar situations and remains at 63 goals in his career. Messi's first free-kick goal this year came in the match against Orlando City SC in MLS Round 2.

In that match, Messi scored from a free-kick in the 90th minute, helping Inter Miami secure a victory and earn crucial points. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo has faced more difficulties in scoring from direct free-kick situations in recent years.

The most recent time the Portuguese superstar scored from a free-kick was on August 27, 2024, in a Saudi Pro League match while he was still playing for Al Nassr. In that match, he scored the second goal in a 4-1 victory over Al Feiha with a precise shot that bypassed the barrier and went into the top corner of the goal.

This goal was particularly important as it helped Ronaldo reach the milestone of 899 official goals in his career. Simultaneously, it also made him the first player in history to score from a direct free-kick in 23 consecutive seasons, before this streak ended in 2025.

Throughout 2025 and into 2026, although he consistently scores from live balls, penalties, and headers, Ronaldo has still not managed to add any goals from direct free-kicks in official matches, making his strike against Al Feiha still the most recent one in this category.

Although Messi is demonstrating consistency in free-kick situations, Ronaldo maintains an impressive scoring efficiency. The race to reach the milestone of 1,000 career goals continues, with Ronaldo currently having 965 official goals, while Messi has 901, including the free-kick goal against New York City that helped Inter Miami complete a 3-2 comeback victory.