Top 16 Players With Most Assists In Football History
In the world of football, people who discuss mostly talk about goal scoring, and who is the highest goal scorer. Unarguably, it could easily be said that there are certain qualities that separate prolific goalscorers from the rest. No doubt, but similarly, providing assists also requires not only the vision to find spaces between the defenders but also the skill to execute the pass. In the world of football, providing key passes before a goal is scored is an underappreciated aspect of the modern game.
We will not only talk about the assist but also talk about the list of the top five assist makers in the history of football, you probably wouldn’t expect four of them to have played as recognized strikers at some point during their careers, with scoring goals seemingly more of a priority than setting up their teammates.
For instance, the assist makers have now started to get recognition just like the highest goalscorers. The player with the most assists in an English Premier League campaign is recognized with a separate award at the end of the season. The Premier League Playmaker Award was introduced in the 2017-18 season to reward the players who create the most goals for their teams.
According to SportsAdda, Statistic has helped us present the chart that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have divided opinion throughout their careers over who is the better player, find themselves on the list of the top five assists makers of all time.
But nevertheless, the report has it that it is Messi who tops that list, and by quite some distance, while Ronaldo finds himself in fourth place, but the other three also deserve their plaudits too.
In spite of the fact that the Argentine international, Lionel Messi has received plenty of criticism for his ‘unsuccessful’ first season at Paris Saint-Germain following his move from Barcelona last summer, with just seven goals to his name so far, but he has still racked up 11 assists in 18 Ligue 1 games in 2021/22.
Lionel Messi recorded a hat-trick of assists against St. Etienne in November, it was the fifth time in his career that he had done so, while he became the first ever player to achieve that feat for two different clubs, following his time at the Camp Nou.
The recent report from the Mirror claimed that during his lengthy career in Spain, he became the all-time assist provider in the history of La Liga, recording a staggering 193 assists to go alongside his 474 league goals. In total, Messi tops the leaderboard for most assists in the history of football with 363.
However, let’s take a look at the players with the most assists In Football History
16. Ronaldinho: (192 assists)
Ronaldinho Gaucho’s football was an ode to joy and fantasy on the pitch of whatever stadium he was in. When he was at FC Barcelona, he accumulated a good number of moments for history, with stratospheric goals, impossible dribbles, and a good number of magical assists.
15. Zinedine Zidane: (214 assists)
The Frenchman was one of the possibly the classiest players in football history, who gave a unique treatment to the ball, always driving with harmony, moving the ball with subtlety, and giving assists that few can see.
14. Zlatan Ibrahimovic: (218 assists)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the powers who has recently surpassed 500 goals at the club level, but it’s not just his stats that are goals. Looking at his assists section, he has also been very prolific, being a reference in attack in all the teams in which he has played.
13. Cesc Fabregas: (228 assists)
The former Chelsea player is one of the players who best understands the pass into the hole, constantly nurturing his teammates with goal passes.
12. Juan Roman Riquelme: (235 assists)
The former Argentine star is possibly the most different player in recent decades, and one of the best players in history, his time at Boca Juniors, Villarreal and FC Barcelona left an indelible mark.
11. Xavi Hernandez: (236 assists)
The former Spanish international player is tipped as one of the best passers in football at the center of his team’s game and shines with his quality of passing and his vision of the game.
10. Carlos Valderrama: (237 assists)
Valderrama is a classic of LaLiga and international football, with a special impact on the Colombian team.
9. Diego Armando Maradona: (240 assists)
Maradona unarguably is the best player in the history of football and also one of the players who have distributed the most assists.
8. Neymar Junior: (247 assists)
7. Franck Ribery: (241 assists)
6. Mesut Ozil: (assist 260)
Mesut Ozil is a German international who started his career with FC Schalke in 2003. and he is easily one of the best playmakers of this generation without any doubt.
5. Angel Di Maria: (269 assists)
Argentine playmaker who plays for both Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria is well known for his creativity.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo: (272 assists)
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese player who is considered by many to be one of the greatest football players in history. As a matter of fact, he is also among the best passers of all time.
3. Luis Suarez: (277 assists)
The Uruguayan international playmaker who passed through several of the best European clubs in history. Luis Suarez also participates a lot in the game of his team, as evidenced by his many assists.
2. Thomas Muller: (280 assists)
The German international is the joint record holder for the most assists provided in a single top-flight season across Europe’s top five leagues. Thomas Muller has been highly creative in the last two seasons. He provided a combined 42 assists for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Bundesliga campaigns.
1. Lionel Messi: (357 assists)
Lionel Messi has not had a prolific start at PSG and has just one goal to his name in Ligue 1. But statistics have it that he has added five assists to his number of career assists, though, including three in a game against Saint-Etienne.