🎥 Lionel Messi and the 10 best free-kick specialists in Europe | OneFootball

Free-kick taking has become something of a dying art in recent years.

Once upon a time, players like David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and Juninho Pernambucano seemed to be popping dead balls into the top corner on a weekly basis but nowadays, it’s a little more difficult to come up with a list of great free-kick specialists.

But after Lionel Messi scored two free-kicks in the same game for the first time in his career this weekend, we’ve had a think about the deadliest sharp-shooters in Europe’s top five leagues, and here’s what we came up with.

Enis Bardhi (Levante)

The Macedonian has forged a reputation as one of the best free-kick takers in LaLiga with that sweet right foot of his.

Kepa Arrizabalaga probably still wakes up in a cold sweat from time to time after Bardhi scored two free-kicks in two minutes against the former Athletic Club goalkeeper last season.

Not even Messi has managed that. Well, not yet anyway.

Miralem Pjanić (Juventus)

Juve’s Bosnian diamond is one of the names which immediately springs to mind when you think of the continent’s best dead-ball thwackers.

Pjanić used to play in France for Lyon, where he reportedly learned the tricks of the trade from the aforementioned Juninho.

And boy, is he good at free-kicks.

Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma)

The man who has been known in some quarters as the Serbian Roberto Carlos specialises in having a sledgehammer of a left foot and if he hits the target with one of his free-kicks, the goalkeeper usually has a choice between letting it in or breaking their wrist.

This strike from last summer’s World Cup was particularly good.

Dimitri Payet (Marseille)

West Ham fans might not remember Payet too fondly after the way he left the club but they will never forget his wand of a right foot.

Since returning to Ligue 1, the French international has been a nightmare for opposition goalkeepers, with this being a particularly unstoppable example.

Nabil Fekir (Lyon)

But Payet isn’t the only decent free-kick taker in France as Lyon’s Fekir is pretty handy too.

The attacker can strike a ball fiercely or place it just out of the goalkeeper’s range.

Remember this one against PSG at the start of this year?

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea)

There seems to be a dearth of good free-kick takers in the Premier League at the moment which means Chelsea’s Spanish left-back is arguably the best of the bunch.

Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur)

Alonso’s biggest rival for the Premier League crown has been nicknamed the Bury Beckham due to the Lancashire town he hails from, and his goal against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final was a great example of his prowess in the free-kick department.

Marvin Plattenhardt (Hertha Berlin)

With Schalke’s Naldo on the decline, Plattenhartdt has arguably become the best shooter in the Bundesliga in recent seasons, particularly from long range.

Nobody scored more free-kicks than him in Germany last season and this one was absolutely superb.

Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Lewandowski is perhaps best known for being a fox in the box and he might therefore be the most underrated free-kick taker on this list.

It’s not easy to beat Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak from range but Lewy did exactly that in the Champions League a couple of years back.