Lionel Messi finally overtaken: Inter Miami captain no longer leads iconic 2025 South American feat

Lionel Messi has built an entire career on redefining standards. At 38, the Inter Miami star remains a reference point for excellence, influence, and technical mastery, even as the global game continues to evolve around him. Yet 2025 has delivered a reminder that soccer never stands still. New names emerge, new specialists rise, and even the most established benchmarks can shift — sometimes quietly, sometimes dramatically.

For Messi and his club, the year has still been filled with silverware, records, and moments of brilliance. But beyond Major League Soccer and the spotlight of North America, something unexpected has happened elsewhere on the continent. A familiar statistic, one that the Argentine has long dominated, now tells a different story.

Messi’s season with Inter Miami has been anything but ordinary. He led the club to its first-ever MLS Cup, adding another historic achievement to a résumé already overflowing with trophies. Individually, he claimed the Golden Boot and secured back-to-back MVP awards, reinforcing the idea that age has not dulled his sharpness.

Beyond club soccer, the Argentine captain continues to loom large on the international stage. As the reigning World Cup holder with Argentina, Messi is weighing whether to take part in the 2026 World Cup, a decision he has said will depend on how he feels physically. “I don’t want to be a burden,” Messi previously explained when discussing his future. “I want to feel physically fit, to be sure I can help and contribute to the team.”

That mindset — measured, self-aware, and honest — has defined the latter stages of his career. And yet, while his legacy remains untouchable, 2025 has shown that specific metrics can still be overtaken.

The ranking revealed

According to data published by Sofascore, Messi no longer sits at the top of the ranking of South American players with the most free-kick goals over the past year. Instead, the list is led by Martin Tavara, a 26-year-old midfielder from the Peruvian team Sporting Cristal.

Tavara recorded five goals directly from free kicks, excluding penalties, across the 2025 season. Messi, by comparison, scored three in the same category. It is a small numerical gap — but symbolically, it carries weight.

Messi’s reputation as a free-kick specialist is legendary. From Barcelona to Paris, and now at Inter Miami, his dead-ball technique has produced some of the most iconic goals of the modern era. Curl, dip, precision — his free kicks have often felt inevitable. Yet soccer evolves, and players adapt. Specialists emerge in leagues that rarely dominate global headlines.

Tavara’s rise does not diminish Messi’s brilliance. Instead, it highlights how technical excellence is no longer confined to Europe’s elite competitions. In Peru’s Liga 1, amid a season where Sporting Cristal fell short of its collective goals, one individual quietly mastered a decisive art.

Martin Tavara’s breakthrough year

For Tavara, 2025 represented both validation and momentum. Despite Sporting Cristal failing to capture the national title, the midfielder delivered his most productive season to date. Across all competitions, he played more than 40 matches, contributing double-digit goals and assists, while establishing himself as a leader in midfield.

One moment proved decisive in elevating him to the top of the ranking: a crucial free-kick goal against Alianza Lima during the playoffs, which pushed his tally to five and secured outright first place. That strike not only shifted the standings — it reshaped his profile.