A study has shown who the most deadly free-kick takers in Europe are, and despite scoring two set-piece goals in recent weeks, Lionel Messi does not feature in the list!
Tired of reading? Click through the gallery to see the 12 best free-kick takers in Europe, according to data company STATS.
The data group looked at the number of attempts it took for players to score a certain amount of free-kick goals, judging those in the list on their succession rate over the last five seasons.
Perhaps surprisingly, Manchester United's Juan Mata has the best conversion rate, with 22.73%, in Europe over the past five seasons, scoring five times from his 22 attempts.
Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala was not far behind the Spaniard with his success rate of 21.05%, as he has hit the back of the net eight times from 38 free-kicks since the 2013/14 campaign.
Third in the standings is new FC Barcelona signing Philippe Coutinho, who has hit the back of the net on five occasions from 26 shots (19.23%).
Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso's four goals from 22 attempts (18.18%) sees him follow the Brazilian, while James Rodriguez six strikes from 36 tries (16.67%) earns him a place in fifth.
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A few unexpected names feature in the rest of the list, though there are notable absentees in the likes of Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.
Are you surprised by any names on the 12-man list? Let us know in the comments section below.
