Which player has scored the most free-kicks in Premier League history? We look at James Ward-Prowse’s quest to overtake David Beckham at the top of the rankings.
Most Free-Kick Goals in Premier League History
David Beckham – 18
James Ward-Prowse – 17
Thierry Henry, Gianfranco Zola, Cristiano Ronaldo – 12
Laurent Robert, Sebastian Larsson – 11
Ian Harte, Morten Gamst Pedersen – 10
Nolberto Solano, Frank Lampard, Jamie Redknapp, James Maddison – 9
Christian Eriksen, Juan Mata – 8
Matt Le Tissier, Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer, Mikel Arteta, Gary McAllister, Gylfi Sigursson, Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Didier Drogba, Ashley Young – 7
18 Goals
David Beckham
David Beckham has scored the most goals from direct free-kicks in Premier League history (18), which will come as little surprise to most. Arguably the skill that Beckham was best known for – alongside his crossing and ability to make the newspapers – the former Manchester United star scored 18 times from direct free-kicks across 265 appearances in nine Premier League seasons.
Beckham didn’t score a single free-kick goal in his first two seasons as a Premier League player, with his first coming for Man Utd in their 6-3 defeat to Southampton on 26 October 1996 – arguably one of United’s most infamous defeats in the Premier League era, which was Beckham’s 48th top-flight league appearance.
All 18 of Beckham’s Premier League free kick goals came in separate matches, while half of them came across two of his later seasons as a Premier League player – 2000-01 (five) and 2001-02 (four).
David Beckham’s Free-Kick Goals in the Premier League
vs Southampton – 26 October 1996
vs Liverpool – 6 December 1997
vs Leicester City – 15 August 1998
vs Everton – 21 March 1999
vs Aston Villa – 1 May 1999
vs Leicester City – 18 March 2000
vs West Ham United – 1 April 2000
vs Southampton – 22 April 2000
vs Ipswich Town – 22 August 2000
vs West Ham United – 26 August 2000
vs Leeds United – 21 October 2000
vs Coventry City – 4 November 2000
vs Manchester City – 18 November 2000
vs Fulham – 19 August 2001
vs Blackburn Rovers – 22 August 2001
vs Southampton – 13 January 2002
vs Sunderland – 2 February 2002
vs Everton – 11 May 2003
Beckham scored six more goals from free-kicks for Real Madrid in La Liga, and one for AC Milan in Serie A, but never for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 at the tail end of his career. Including seven for LA Galaxy in MLS, Beckham ended his career with 32 direct free-kick goals across league competition.
Beckham’s most famous free-kick goal arguably came for England, however. His last-gasp long-range effort in a World Cup qualifier against Greece at Old Trafford sent the Three Lions to the 2002 World Cup.
17 Goals
James Ward-Prowse
James Ward-Prowse scored his 17th Premier League free-kick goal in Southampton’s surprise win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 18 February 2023. The strike was the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory, and the sixth time in Premier League history that JWP had scored a winner with a free-kick.
Thirteen of his 17 free-kick goals have come away from home, including the last eight in a row, meaning he is the most prolific scorer of Premier League free-kicks in away matches – two more than Beckham managed on the road (11).
James Ward-Prowse’s Free-Kick Goals in the Premier League
vs West Bromwich Albion – 16 January 2016
vs West Bromwich Albion – 3 February 2018
vs Manchester United – 2 March 2019
vs Tottenham Hotspur – 9 March 2019
vs Watford – 30 November 2019
vs Watford – 28 June 2020
vs Aston Villa – 1 November 2020
vs Aston Villa – 1 November 2020
vs Manchester United – 29 November 2020
vs Newcastle United – 6 February 2021
vs Crystal Palace – 15 December 2021
vs Wolverhampton Wanderers – 15 January 2022
vs Leeds United – 2 April 2022
vs Brighton & Hove Albion – 24 April 2022
vs Fulham – 31 December 2022
vs Everton – 14 January 2023
vs Chelsea – 18 February 2023
12 Goals
Gianfranco Zola, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo
It’s fair to say the trio of players on 12 free-kick goals in Premier League history are among the most talented to have ever played in the competition.
Unfortunately for Gianfranco Zola, we don’t have his all-time league record when it comes to his free-kick scoring prowess – our Italian Serie A free-kick data doesn’t go back far enough. The Italian wizard didn’t make his Premier League debut until his was 30 years old, so it’s impressive that he scored so many free-kick goals during his seven seasons as a Premier League player.
A quarter of his Premier League free-kick goals came in a single month of action, with Zola scoring from dead-ball situations in three different Premier League matches in September 2002 for Chelsea – the only other players to score in as many games during a single month of PL action were Wayne Rooney (September 2013) and Ian Harte (May 2001).
Thierry Henry scored a free-kick in each of his final six seasons at Arsenal during his first spell at the club. By the time he returned for four league matches in 2011-12, he wasn’t even given a chance to add to his tally. His 12 free-kick goals in the Premier League for Arsenal is a club record in the competition, with his tally over double that of the next most-prolific players, Alexis Sánchez and Robin van Persie (both five).
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 12 free-kick goals for Manchester United in the Premier League – 11 of these in his first spell at the club between 2003-04 and 2008-09. Across those six seasons, the Portuguese legend was the player with the most free-kick goals in the Premier League, with his 11 strikes three more than Henry at Arsenal.
Ronaldo is still the third-youngest player to score a Premier League free kick. His effort for Man Utd versus Portsmouth in November 2003 came while he was aged just 18 years and 269 days old, with only Gareth Bale and Robbie Fowler scoring one at a younger age in the competition.
Across his career, Ronaldo scored 33 direct free-kick goals in the top five European leagues – 20 at Real Madrid in La Liga, 12 at Man Utd and just one at Juventus in Serie A. That tally is below only Lionel Messi (41) since 2003-04 (Ronaldo’s first season at United) and 13 more than the next best, Andrea Pirlo (20).
11 Goals
Sebastian Larsson and Laurent Robert
Six of Seb Larsson‘s free-kick goals came for Birmingham City, while the latter five were in a Sunderland shirt.
Laurent Robert was one of only two players – alongside Beckham in 2000-01 – to score as many as five direct free-kick goals in a single Premier League season. He netted five for Newcastle in 2001-02, helping them finish fourth come the end of the campaign.
Robert was famed for the power he could generate from his shots, with the majority of his free-kick goals coming from rockets via his left foot.
10 Goals
Ian Harte and Morten Gamst Pedersen
Both players had fairly modest Premier League goal tallies but were exceptionally potent from direct free-kicks.
Former Leeds full-back Ian Harte scored 10 of his 28 Premier League goals from free-kicks (36%), while Morten Gamst Pedersen – arguably one of the most “streets won’t forget” players in competition history – scored 29% of his Premier League goals from free-kicks (10 of 34) playing for Blackburn Rovers in the top-flight between 2004 and 2012.
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