Messi to make history again

Lionel Messi is closing in on another piece of football history after scoring a stunning free-kick for Inter Miami in their 2-2 draw against San Diego.

Messi brought Inter Miami back on level terms after they had fallen behind against San Diego. In the 24th minute of the first half, he took a free-kick from a position slightly to the right, near the edge of the penalty area's arc. He struck the ball with his left foot, sending it hurtling towards the goal with a trajectory resembling a venomous cross.

The ball bounced on the turf near the penalty spot. None of Messi's teammates managed to get a touch on it, but the San Diego goalkeeper, CJ dos Santos, was deceived by the ball's flight path. It struck the post before nestling into the back of the net.

The goalkeeper's error played a part in the goal, but it was the precision of Messi's shot and the ball's unusual trajectory that ultimately made it special.
Messi's 75 Free-Kick Goals

With this goal against San Diego, Messi's career tally reached 930 goals. Of these, 75 have come from free-kicks. With this achievement, he hasnow surpassed Brazil's Jair Rosa Pinto; the Argentine superstar now has one more free-kick goal to his name than Jair.

Messi isn't stopping there, however. He needs just three more free-kick goals to equal the record held by another Brazilian star, Marcelinho Carioca, who tops the historic list.

Marcelinho Carioca has scored 78 free-kick goals. This means that with three more goal, Messi will share that record with Carioca. Scoring one additional goal after that would see him take sole possession of the top spot on the list.

Those behind Messi on the list

Jorge Aravena also features on this list with 65 free-kick goals. Cristiano Ronaldo, known as Messi's arch-rival, has 64, and Brazil's Zico, has 62. Another Argentine legend, Diego Armando Maradona, is also on the list with 61 free-kick goals.

Messi is now 39 years old. He has already retired from the national team, though his official farewell match in the national jersey is yet to take place; he is set to bid farewell while playing for Argentina in a friendly against Benin at the Monumental on October 6.

Despite stepping away from the national team, his journey in club football continues. Under his contract with Inter Miami, the Argentine star is set to remain with the club until the end of the 2028 season.

This means he still has ample time to claim the historic free-kick record for himself. As it stands, Messi is just three goals away from Marcelinho Carioca's record of 78 goals.

But even at the age of 39, a new piece of history beckons for Messi. Just three more free-kick goals would see him equal the record, while four would propel him to the top spot of all time.