Messi scored 9 free kicks after leaving Barca, while Barca did not score 1 in the same period
After leaving Barca, Messi has scored 9 direct free kicks, while Barca has not scored 1 free kick in official matches during the same period.
Barcelona have not scored from a direct free kick since May 3, 2021, despite 42 attempts at direct free kicks, with Messi scoring against Valencia in Barca's most recent direct free kick goal. Two years and four months have passed since that goal, and since then, Barcelona fans have not been able to celebrate their team's goal from a free kick in an official match. Meanwhile, Messi has left Barcelona to continue to show his ability to break the ball through the opposing goal in this way. Since his departure from Barcelona, the scoring table for direct free-kick goals shows Messi 9-0 Barcelona.
In the 28 months since Messi's departure from Barcelona (since June 2021), Messi's free-kick skills have greatly benefited the Argentine national team, PSG and Inter Miami.
Using the date of his farewell to Barcelona as a reference, Messi scored five direct free-kicks for Argentina. During his Copa America, Messi scored a direct free-kick each against Chile and Ecuador, while Ecuador, Jamaica and Panama were also threatened by his free kicks in other matches. At PSG, he shared responsibility for the penalty with Neymar, scoring two more free kicks against Nice and Lille. Finally, at Inter Miami, he has already celebrated two direct free kick goals in less than two months, one against CD Cruz Azul and the other against Dallas, which also helps explain the phenomenon of "explosion" in American football with the arrival of Messi. It's also seen as more reason to be close to an eighth Ballon d'Or, not including the World Cup winners, of course.
Messi has scored 65 direct free-kick goals in his career, although at the beginning he was criticised for his efficiency in this regard. Of these, 50 goals were scored for Barcelona, 11 for the Argentine national team, two for PSG and two for Inter Miami.
Meanwhile, Barcelona continue to look forward to having a professional free-kicker and no one doubts who will kick when a free kick appears near the box. In August 2022, Barcelona coach Xavi publicly acknowledged the flaw. "We need set-piece goals, which is something we practice every day in training," he admitted. At that time, he mentioned Lewandowski and Raphinha, both players who are capable of taking on this responsibility. This summer, Gundogan also joined the team. Xavi also recalled at a press conference more than a year ago how they practiced during their most glorious years at Barcelona. "There were always some regular penalty takers and then the players would communicate with each other depending on how the game felt, like when me, Messi, Villa and I played," he recalled. Messi's peak year was 2018, when Messi scored 10 direct free-kick goals.
As in the recent game against Osasuna, Gundogan assisted Conde's header from a corner kick, and a direct free-kick was an important means of winning the game. Although in the history of the club, in addition to Messi, there have been such excellent free-kickers as László Kubala, Schuster, Diego Maradona, Ronald Koeman and Ronaldinho, the most incomprehensible thing is that in this statistic that has been more than two years old, Barcelona have not scored from a free kick.
Messi's free-kick goal statistics since June 2021
June 14, 2021 Copa America vs Chile 1 goal
July 3, 2021 Copa America vs Ecuador 1 goal
27 September 2022 Friendlies vs Jamaica 1 goal
1 October 2022 Ligue 1 vs Nice 1 goal
19 February 2023 Ligue 1 v Lille 1 goal
March 23, 2023 Friendly vs Panama 1 goal
July 21, 2023 North American League Cup vs CD Cruz Azul 1 goal
August 6, 2023 North American League Cup vs Dallas 1 goal
7 September 2023 World Qualifiers vs Ecuador 1 goal