The statistics reveal a significant challenge for FC Barcelona in the post-Lionel Messi era. During his 17 seasons with the club, Lionel Messi scored an incredible 50 free-kick goals, cementing his status as one of the greatest set-piece specialists in football history.
Once renowned for their deadly accuracy from set-pieces, Barcelona have struggled to replicate the magic that Messi brought to every dead-ball situation since the Argentine great left the club in 2021.
His consistency and technique often made him a match-winner even in tight games — a quality the Blaugrana still miss deeply.
Notably, in the first two seasons following Messi’s exit (2021/22 and 2022/23), Barcelona failed to score a single free-kick goal.
Since then, several players have tried to fill the void — including Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Ferran Torres, and Ilkay Gündogan — but none have delivered consistently from dead-ball situations.
Even with the rise of promising talents like Lamine Yamal, Barcelona still lack a player capable of consistently threatening from direct free kicks.
From a total of 89 free-kick attempts, the Blaugrana have managed to score just three goals, resulting in 86 misses — a stark contrast to the prolific output enjoyed during Messi’s reign.
Since Messi’s departure, the Blaugrana have scored rare free-kick goals against Valencia in 2023/24 (Robert Lewandowski), Real Betis in 2023/24 (Ferran Torres) and Sevilla in 2024/25 (Pablo Torre).
Messi scored seven free-kick goals in each of the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons. With 69 free-kick goals in all competitions, Messi is fourth on the all-time list, behind legends such as Juninho Pernambucano.
Filling the void left by Messi has proven difficult for the Blaugrana. The team is still searching for a consistent and reliable free-kick specialist.
This ongoing challenge highlights how the departure of a single, uniquely talented player can leave a void that reshapes the dynamics of a team for years to come.
