Home

Soccer

PSG Star Achraf Hakimi Hopes to Replace Lionel Messi as Free-Kick Taker After AFCON Heroics

Published 01/26/2022, 2:34 PM EST

Follow Us

via Getty

Paris Saint Germain had one of the best teams in the world last season with an attack that boasted the likes of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe. However, the French club went one better and signed Lionel Messi, among a few other players, to make their team a genuine superteam.

They also signed Sergio Ramos and Achraf Hakimi while adding Italian keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to their ranks. All of these moves ensured that no other team could match their strength on paper, and things have gone well for the club since.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Achraf Hakimi talks about his chances to take free-kicks for PSG

Among all of these players, two superstars stand out when it comes to taking free-kicks; Messi and Neymar. Messi is probably the greatest free-kick taker of all time and has scored more free-kicks than a few football clubs in the last few years. Meanwhile, Neymar has also scored a lot of free-kicks in his relatively short career but did take them for PSG.

However, a new name has fallen into the ring for free-kick contention, and it’s right back, Achraf Hakimi. The Morocco International recently scored a wonderful free-kick for his nation in the ongoing AFCON tournament and he has talked about taking free kicks for PSG as well.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Soccer stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

In Paris, we have a lot of players who can take free-kicks. There’s Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, I try, but it’s difficult. I’ll speak to them when I get back to Paris,” Hakimi said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr: Their numbers on free-kick duty

While Hakimi might be a good option to go for, Neymar and Messi are in a class of their own. Neymar has scored 14 direct free-kick goals in his career, with 7 of those coming for PSG in 111 matches.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

On the other hand, Messi has scored a total of 58 free-kicks in his career, which is the most among all players who are currently active. He hasn’t scored a free-kick for PSG yet, but it won’t be long before he finally does so.

Jose Mourinho Has a Hilarious Explanation for Why His Team Conceded Two Goals After Half-Time

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Aniket Awasthi

947Articles

One take at a time

Aniket Awasthi is a soccer author at EssentiallySports. This STEM undergraduate combines an insatiable urge to write with his admiration for soccer to enhance his journalism. He lists charismatic names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford as his favorite players, but he is a great admirer of Karim Benzema too.
Show More>