Messi continues his pursuit of the record for most free-kick goals in history, having already scored 7 direct free-kick goals in 2026. An even more striking statistic is that since 2018, Messi has scored 42 direct free-kick goals while converting only 37 penalties in the same period.

For instance, this year Messi has scored only 2 penalty goals but an impressive 7 free-kick goals.

Of course, this statistic reflects not only Messi's exceptional free-kick technique but also his lower penalty conversion rate. Since 2018, Messi has missed 13 penalties, which partly explains why he has scored more free-kick goals than penalty goals.

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