Argentina captain, Lionel Messi, moved closer to the all-time record for direct free-kick goals after scoring a stunning set-piece for Inter Miami against Columbus Crew on Sunday.
Messi, 39, produced a remarkable finish from close to the right touchline in the 33rd minute, curling his left-footed effort over the wall and into the far top corner to beat Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte.
The goal cancelled out Josef Martínez’s early opener and brought Inter Miami level at 1-1.
However, Columbus Crew secured a 2-1 victory after scoring a late stoppage-time winner.
According to football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the strike took Messi’s career tally of direct free-kick goals to 76 across his spells with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami, as well as his appearances for Argentina.
The latest effort leaves the Argentine superstar two goals behind the mark attributed to Brazilian former midfielder Marcelinho Carioca, who is credited with 78 direct free-kick goals.
Messi has been particularly prolific from set pieces in 2026.
He previously reached 75 against San Diego FC before scoring twice from free-kicks in Inter Miami’s 7-1 victory over CF Montréal.
He has also scored direct free-kicks against Orlando City, New York City FC and Jordan while representing Argentina.
The latest goal adds to Messi’s remarkable career record, with the forward having scored 50 direct free-kicks for Barcelona and more than a dozen for Argentina, while continuing to add to his tally since joining Inter Miami in 2023.
His overall career goal haul has now surpassed 931.
However, historical free-kick statistics vary according to the criteria used by different record compilers.
Some lists place Brazilian set-piece specialist Juninho Pernambucano on 77, while recent tallies generally credit Marcelinho with 78 and Messi with 76.
