Barcelona pay tribute to Lionel Messi after stunning free-kick goal for Inter Miami | OneFootball

Former FC Barcelona captain and club legend Lionel Messi continues to produce magic from dead-ball situations.

At 39, the Argentine produced another spectacular free-kick goal for Inter Miami, and the Blaugrana took the opportunity to pay homage to the record Ballon d’Or winner by recalling one of the many memorable efforts he scored during his time at Camp Nou.

The Catalan club posted a video on X of Messi’s famous free-kick against Liverpool in 2019, accompanied by a short but telling message: “He’s been doing it all his life.”

The tribute came after Messi’s latest free-kick for Inter Miami against Columbus Crew. The Argentine scored from an almost impossible position on the right-hand side, close to the byline.

A cross appeared the obvious option, but Messi struck the ball directly with his left foot, producing a perfect trajectory that beat the goalkeeper and found the far corner.

The goal briefly brought Inter Miami level, although they eventually lost 2-1 to Columbus Crew. The result, however, was overshadowed by another trademark Messi free-kick.

An inevitable reminder

Barcelona used the occasion to revisit one of Messi’s most memorable free-kicks in a Barça shirt. It came on 1 May 2019, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool.

With Barcelona leading 2-0, Messi won a free-kick from a distance that would have appeared too far out for most players. But the Argentine placed the ball, took his run-up and sent it into the top corner, leaving Alisson with no chance.

It made the score 3-0 and became one of the defining goals of that Champions League campaign.

More than seven years later, Barcelona used the image of that strike to accompany Messi’s latest effort in the United States.

Two away from the record

The goal against Columbus Crew also has a statistical significance. It was Messi’s 76th direct free-kick goal in official matches, scored across his spells with Barcelona, Argentina, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami.

That leaves him just two behind the 78-goal total attributed to Marcelinho Carioca, the Brazilian set-piece specialist.

Marcelinho spent a brief spell at Valencia in 1997, having joined from Corinthians, and was a noted free-kick specialist.

Messi has already surpassed many of the game’s renowned dead-ball specialists and is now within touching distance of the record.

In the meantime, he continues to do what Barcelona’s post was designed to highlight: turn seemingly impossible free-kicks into goals.