Roberto Carlos is one of the most iconic free-kick takers of all-time.
Indeed, the Brazilian’s unique style made him one of the most memorable set-piece takers of all-time, and his remarkable goal against France still lives long in the memory.
Now, speaking to Ben Black on TikTok, Roberto Carlos has been asked to compare his own free-kick abilities compared to some modern-day greats.
Carlos claimed he was better at free-kicks than the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Cole Palmer, but, interestingly, he conceded that one former Tottenham player was a better free-kick taker than himself.
Roberto Carlos says Luka Modric is better than him at free-kicks
Carlos was taking part in a TikTok challenge where he had to stay quiet until he heard a better free-kick taker than himself.
The left-back refused to make a sound as names such as Enzo Fernandez, Antoine Griezmann and Angel Di Maria were rattled off.
However, when Luka Modric’s name came up, Carlos said this:
“Luka, yeah Luka,” Carlos said.
“Better than you?” The host asked.
“Yeah, yeah,” Carlos said.
Modric is an all-time great, and, once upon a time, he was one of the best players in the Premier League for Tottenham before his £30m move to Real Madrid.
How many free-kicks has Luka Modric scored?
It is strange to hear Roberto Carlos saying this about Modric as he’s not necessarily famed for his free-kick ability.
Indeed, Modric isn’t necessarily a dead ball specialist, and remarkably, he’s only ever scored two free-kick goals in his entire career.
Modric’s only free-kick goals came way back in the 2007/08 season for Dynamo Zagreb, and he hasn’t scored a single goal from a dead ball since that point.
As for the best free-kick takers in football today, there are no prizes for guessing which current players have the best free-kick records.
| 5 most prolific active free-kick takers | Free-kicks scored |
| Lionel Messi | 66 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 64 |
| Hakan Calhanoglou | 28 |
| Miralem Pjanic | 26 |
| Neymar | 19 |
Carlos may be a bit biased here. After all, Modric is a Real Madrid legend, as is Carlos, so he may just be reserving special praise for the Croatian due to their Los Blancos connection.
