In March 2026, Lionel Messi set a new career milestone: he scored a goal against New York City in the MLS, taking his tally to 71 free-kicks. With this achievement, the player overtook Pelé and is now just one goal away from equalling the all-time record held by the Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano.

Nowadays, seeing the Argentine stand over the ball on the edge of the box creates an immediate sense of anticipation. Opposing goalkeepers line up the wall with tension, and the effectiveness of his shots is extremely high. Over the years, Messi has perfected his technique to the point where he is a guaranteed threat from set pieces.

However, this skill did not come to him from the outset. During his early seasons at FC Barcelona and in his early days with the Argentina national team, his free-kicks were different. Messi had power and good direction, but he still lacked the pinpoint accuracy that characterises him today.

That transformation from a goalscorer to an absolute specialist took place on a specific date and at a specific venue: the pitch at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, in February 2009. During the build-up to a friendly for the Argentina national team, a key moment occurred: a technical lesson from Diego Maradona that changed absolutely everything.

Signorini’s intervention: A blow to the ego

It all happened at the end of a training session ahead of a friendly against the French national team. At that time, Diego Maradona was the manager of the Argentine national team. When training finished, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano and Messi himself asked permission to stay behind and practise shooting at goal.

On one of his many attempts, Messi struck a shot that sailed well over the top right corner of the goal defended by Juan Pablo Carrizo, and it was his subsequent reaction that caught the eye. The Rosario-born player made a clear gesture of annoyance, turned on his heel and began walking towards the dressing room.

On his way, the star was intercepted by Fernando Signorini, who was the team’s fitness coach. In his book ‘Fútbol llamado a la rebelión’ (Football: A Call to Rebellion), the author detailed how he stopped the Argentine footballer in his tracks and how he managed to appeal to his competitive pride with a simple phrase.

“Tell me something, is a player like you going to go and have a shower after that rubbish? Stop being a wimp. Grab a ball and have another go,” Signorini said to a frustrated Messi, who just wanted to leave the pitch to have a shower and return to the team’s base.

That blunt remark stopped Messi in his tracks and dealt a direct blow to the ego of the world’s best footballer, who was then just 21 years old and preparing to win his first Ballon d’Or in 2009. What happened immediately afterwards was the stuff of legends.

Maradona’s lesson: The technique that changed everything

Maradona, who had been watching the situation from a few metres away, approached them. According to Signorini’s account, the manager put his arm around Messi’s shoulders and guided him back into the area in a fatherly tone: “Leíto, Leíto, come on, lad. Let’s have another go.”

The manager placed the ball exactly where the player had just missed and gave him a precise technical tip to completely change the dynamics of his shots: “Listen, when you go for the ball, don’t take your foot off it so quickly.”

“It’s better to leave it there a bit longer, because otherwise it (the ball) won’t understand what you want. You can’t just treat it any old way,” was Maradona’s explanation. Yes, the coach referred to the ball using personal pronouns, as if it were another person.

Up until that point, Messi used to strike free kicks with a sharp, quick impact, which generated a lot of power but less control. Although he possessed a great scoring ability when it came to finishing, his strength during his early years was not free kicks.

Diego’s instruction focused on what, in pure biomechanics, is known as ‘follow-through’. By keeping his foot on the ball for an extra fraction of a second, the player manages to impart the necessary spin to the ball so that it clears the wall and drops sharply towards the goal.

To demonstrate the concept in practice, Diego took a couple of steps back and took the free-kick. The ball curved perfectly and flew straight into the top left corner. Messi grasped the message instantly, took the instruction on board and, incredibly, improved considerably as a free-kick taker.

"The two of us would finish training and go off to have a kick about. That’s when he started hitting the target. Not because I taught him. It’s simple, I told him: you have to hit it in the middle and leave your foot on it. He asked me how he managed to get his whole foot on it. I told him: well, like this... They won’t give me an Oscar for it, but now he curls them all in,” recalled Diego, in an interview with ‘TyC Sports’.

Putting what he’d learnt into practice: A legendary impact

The impact of that brief chat was immediate, and the statistics prove it. Before that training session in France, Messi had scored just a single official free-kick goal in his entire career, which he had netted in October 2008 against Atlético Madrid. Up until that point, his role in set-pieces had been secondary.

After taking Maradona’s advice on board, his development was impressive. Messi applied the concept of keeping contact with the ball, as Diego had said, and began to practise consistently. Year after year, he increased his effectiveness until he became the main and undisputed taker for both FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team.

The result of that learning process is the record he holds in 2026. With 71 direct free-kick goals, the Rosario-born player has surpassed Maradona’s own record (61) and overtaken historic specialists such as David Beckham, Ronaldinho and Pelé.

Top free-kick scorers in official competitions

  1. Juninho Pernambucano: 77 goals

  2. Lionel Messi: 71 goals

  3. Pelé: 70 goals

  4. Víctor Legrotaglie: 66 goals

  5. Ronaldinho: 66 goals

  6. David Beckham: 65 goals

  7. Cristiano Ronaldo: 64 goals

That afternoon at the Stade Vélodrome represented much more than a simple technical correction: it was the exact moment when the greatest idol of a generation decided to pass on one of his greatest secrets to the man destined to succeed him. Maradona gave Messi the tool he needed to completely dominate the game.

Today, every time the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner curls the ball over the wall, the whole world bears witness to the natural talent of a one-of-a-kind player, but also to Diego’s eternal legacy.