Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best free-kick takers of all time. The Portuguese forward has scored 61 free kicks in his illustrious career. However, the 2014 World Cup was a tournament that Ronaldo would want to forget.
Portugal was drawn against Germany, the USA, and Ghana. Ronaldo entered as the current Ballon d’Or winner but was facing fitness issues due to knee injuries. In the first match against Germany, Ronaldo was the main attacking threat for Portugal.
Ronaldo Freekicks are injurious to health
— ArgentineCuler (@FCB_Argentine) November 6, 2023
Ronaldo received a free kick from 30 to 40 yards out from goal and had an opportunity to score a goal against Germany. The Germans were confident about the distance of the free kick, therefore, only a single defender, Philipp Lahm, was put in a defensive wall.
Ronaldo took a bad free kick and unfortunately hit Philipp Lahm, the only person in the defensive wall. The free kick has been part of the soccer culture for a decade and has been used as a meme against the Portuguese striker for quite some time. The video was against in the social media cycles recently and drew some amusing reactions.
Throwback to the 2014 World Cup, when Germany made a one-man wall with the Shortest Player on the pitch, Philipp Lahm.
Ronaldo still managed to hit him 😭pic.twitter.com/Hz95Vns0OE
— 𝓐𝓵𝓮𝔁 (@Quoteista) November 6, 2023
Comments like “Ronaldo Freekicks are injurious to health,” “Name 1 player who can do it other than Ronaldo,” “This one clip should settle the Ronaldo v Messi debate,” and “What did I just watch“? echoed the sentiments of the fans who were in disbelief about the effort from Ronaldo.
To add to the misery, Portugal lost that game 4-0 which is the worst World Cup result for the nation in the history of the tournament. Portugal went home after three games after being knocked out in the Group stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored only four free kicks since leaving Real Madrid in 2018
Ronaldo’s record in free kicks is undeniable, however, since leaving Real Madrid in 2018, the Portuguese has been in a slump. Since leaving the Spanish club five years ago, Ronaldo has scored only four goals at the club level (as per the transfermrkt database).
The last free-kick he scored for Real Madrid came against Gremio in the FIFA Club World Cup final. Since then, he scored none in the 2018/19 season. He scored his first free kick for Juventus against Torino in Serie A in 2019/20.
Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹 Amazing Freekick Goal & Jose Mourinho’s Reaction 🤯🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/H07UFCFKNI
— Football History (@FootballHi40151) November 3, 2023
He scored a free kick against Norwich on match day 33 of the 2021/22 season. Finally, since moving to Al-Nassr, the Portuguese has scored two free kicks in the Saudi Pro League, with the latest coming against Damac FC in game week 10 of season 2023/24.
The history book will always remember Ronaldo as one of the greatest free-kick takers of all time however, on a closer look at his record, the picture will become clearer that his free-kick statistics were lopsided toward the first half of his career.