Former Manchester City star Sergio Aguero has created a huge controversy with his recent comments on Cristiano Ronaldo. Aguero, who retired from professional soccer back in 2021, appeared in a Twitch stream recently. During the stream, while answering the age-old debate on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Aguero brutally trolled the Al-Nassr star.
As per Medio Tiempo, Sergio Aguero branded Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick goals as “pure luck.” The Argentine star said, “Come on. All free-kick goals and pure luck. Messi’s are all at the angle, stupid. But what does [Ronaldo] do? Goalkeeper’s fault. I think Raul has better goals, [Karim] Benzema I think he has better ones.” Aguero, who is Lionel Messi’s best friend, firmly believes that Ronaldo “cannot match” Messi.
Aguero further said, “How many free-kick goals were shown? Out of the top 20, Ronaldo’s 15 were free-kicks. In Messi’s top 20 goals, in 15 of them, he dribbled past five players.” In addition to this, the Manchester City legend went on to the extent of saying that Ronaldo‘s Puskas-winning goal against Porto back in 2009 was because of a “mistake by the goalkeeper.“
After being diagnosed with a heart condition in December 2021, Aguero announced that he will retire from professional soccer. However, the former Barcelona star did appear in Gerard Pique’s latest brainchild, the Kings League. Alongside Aguero, former soccer legends like Ronaldinho, as well as legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, have also made their appearance in the Kings League.
How many free-kick goals has Cristiano Ronaldo scored?
Despite Sergio Aguero’s bizarre comments, Cristiano Ronaldo still remains one of the best free-kick takers in the history of soccer. Although Ronaldo’s free-kick prowess has decreased with time, the former Real Madrid star did score a stunning free-kick during Portugal’s recent Euro 2024 qualifier match against Luxembourg. He also scored a sublime free-kick against Abha during a recent Saudi Pro League match.
To date, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 60 free-kick goals in his career. Meanwhile, Messi has 62 free-kick goals to his name. Despite both the stars being excellent set-piece takers, Ronaldo was more prolific than Messi at free-kicks during the early days. However, with time and consistent practice, Messi has managed to overtake Ronaldo’s free-kick tally.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi use different free-kick techniques (Credits: Twitter)
Moreover, both the stars use different techniques while taking their free kicks. Messi resorts to the trustworthy side-footed curling shot technique while taking his set pieces. Ronaldo, on the other hand, has developed his own unique ‘knuckleball’ technique, which despite being hard to master, is very dangerous when perfectly executed.
However, neither Messi nor Ronaldo is even in the top 5 on the list of players with the most free-kick goals. Legends like David Beckham, Ronaldinho, and Pele have all scored more free-kick goals than Messi and Ronaldo. Brazilian legend Zico and Messi’s compatriot Diego Maradona have scored 62 free-kick goals and are at par with Messi. However, Brazilian star Juninho tops the list with a record 77 free-kick goals to his name.
