Madrid's set-piece crisis: The gaping Ronaldo-shaped hole in Los Blancos' free-kick department
Real Madrid's free-kick conversion has plummeted since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, with the team struggling to find a reliable specialist despite having talented options.
Real Madrid are feeling the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in more ways than one, particularly when it comes to free-kick expertise where their production has nosedived since the Portuguese star’s departure in 2018.
From feast to famine
The numbers tell a proper horror story for Madrid fans. During CR7’s nine seasons at the Bernabéu, Los Blancos averaged a healthy 6.1 free-kick goals per season. Since his departure? A measly 1.6 goals per campaign. That’s not just a drop-off - it’s falling off a bleeding cliff.
Ronaldo netted 33 direct free-kicks during his Madrid stint, more than any other player in the club’s illustrious history. The gap between him and the competition is absolutely massive:
- Gareth Bale - 4 free-kick goals
- Özil and James - 3 each
- Several players with 2 goals, including current squad members Mbappé, Valverde, Alaba and Rodrygo
The specialist vacuum
Madrid have gone from having a world-class specialist in Ronaldo plus solid alternatives (Bale, Özil, James, even Ramos) to what can only be described as a power vacuum. The current crop, while talented, aren’t exactly pulling up trees in this department.
For context, only Messi has surpassed Ronaldo’s free-kick numbers with 50 goals, though their conversion rates remain remarkably similar - 0.08 for the Argentine (from 591 attempts) versus 0.07 for the Portuguese (from 444 attempts).
Current campaign woes
This season’s stats make for particularly grim reading. From 22 attempts, Madrid have converted just once - Fede Valverde’s strike against Atlético in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final. Mbappé leads the attempts chart with seven efforts, but the Frenchman is yet to find the net from a free-kick this term.
The current squad’s options are limited to Mbappé, Valverde, Rodrygo and the injured Alaba as the only players who’ve previously scored direct free-kicks. The departures of Isco, Asensio, Kroos and Benzema have further depleted their arsenal of potential takers.
The Turkish hope
Madrid’s best hope might lie with young Arda Güler, widely regarded as having the sweetest strike in the current squad. The Turkish wonderkid has already shown his talent with 15 goals and 23 assists (13 this season alone) but hasn’t yet converted any of his five free-kick attempts, despite coming close on multiple occasions.
For now, Madrid fans can only look back with misty eyes at the days when seeing Ronaldo place the ball down meant there was a decent chance they’d be celebrating seconds later. As they say in the East End, they’re having a right ‘mare without their Cristiano.