Cristiano Ronaldo ranks above Lionel Messi as fans vote for the 25 greatest free-kick takers in football history
Of many things, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are also known for their immaculate free-kicks, having scored a ton of them during their illustrious careers.
Both talismanic stars have now been named among the greatest free-kick takers in history in an online poll.
Listicle website The Top Tens ran an interactive list titled 'Best Free Kick Takers in Football (Soccer)' where fans could cast their votes.
Former Brazil legend and dead-ball specialist Juninho Pernambucano took the top spot with 15 percent of the votes, having struck a record 77 free-kicks.
While David Beckham came in second, Ronaldo was behind him as the third-best free-kick taker of all-time with nine percent of the votes, although his set-piece prowess has declined in recent years.
He's struck 58 free-kicks in his career, including 10 with the Portugal national team. Ronaldo's latest effort from the dead ball came last month against Norwich City in the Premier League when the 37-year-old brought up his hat-trick.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both have scored 58 free kicks goals in their careers. ✅
It brought him level with his arch-rival Messi, who led the count for most free-kicks among active players for over a year. The Argentine has been ranked in ninth position on the list by fans, with only three percent of fans voting for him.
All 50 of the Argentine's free-kick goals at club level have come with Barcelona as he's yet to open his free-kick account in PSG colors.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has struck a free-kick with all his clubs except Sporting CP - netting 32 times with Los Blancos, another 15 with United and just one with Juventus.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner also holds the record for most free-kicks in the Champions League with 12.
Juninho
Pirlo
🤔 90th minute free-kick, who do you want to take it? ⚽️
🥳 Today is Juninho’s 47th birthday, who scored a record 77 free-kicks, and it got us thinking…
🇧🇷 Juninho
🏴 Beckham
🇧🇷 Ronaldinho
🇦🇷 Messi
🇮🇹 Pirlo
Free-kick to win the game, who’s your pick 😬⬇️ https://t.co/FX5gL02Kms
Roberto Carlos and Diego Maradona made the cut into the top five, while Sinisa Mihajlovic, Ronaldinho and Steven Gerrard were all ranked above Messi.
Juventus legend Andrea Pirlo completed the top 10 list. More legends such as Zico, Rivaldo, Diego Forlan, Wesley Sneijder, Ryan Giggs and Shensuke Nakamura all feature in the top 25.
Messi and Ronaldo hailed for their free-kick prowess
Fans who voted for the extraterrestrial duo of Messi and Ronaldo have also left high praise in the comments for them.
Ronaldo has been hailed for being "simply prolific when it comes to set pieces," while one fan even called him "the man" for free-kicks and "deserving to be [at] number 1".
Messi has also treated fans with some of the most eye-catching set-piece goals, for which they've called him a "magician," "game changer" and even the "greatest player of all time".