Former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United stars are among the seven active players with the most assists in football history.
The ability to create chances for your teammates is one of the most important skills in football and the players on this list are the best in the business when it comes to chance creation.
For club and country, here are the seven active players with the most assists in football history.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo – 255 assists
In terms of assists, Ronaldo’s best season came back in 2014-15 when he racked up 21 assists across all competitions for Real Madrid.
These days he mostly plays as a penalty-box striker, but in his formative years especially he was a nippy winger who had pinpoint accuracy when it came to crossing.
Throughout his entire career, he’s averaged an assist every 397.4 minutes.
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6. Neymar – 279 assists
The Brazilian superstar is one of the greatest technical players of the 21st century and had it not been for injuries, he’d probably be considerably higher on this list.
Especially during his first few seasons with PSG, Neymar was an absolute monster when it came to chance creation. In total, he produced an assist every 188 minutes while playing in the French capital.
The 32-year-old also has more assists on the international stage than any other player on this list which is quite the accolade.
=4. Luis Suarez – 300 assists
Given that Suarez is the only out-and-out striker on this entire list, it speaks volumes about how complete he was during his prime years.
Amazingly, Suarez is the fourth highest-scoring player in football history who is still active today and he ranks joint-fourth for assists too.
Scoring goals has always been the aim of the game for Suarez, but he also ranks among the best playmakers of his generation which is quite the effort.
=4. Angel Di Maria – 300 assists
There aren’t many players who can hold a candle to Di Maria’s career achievements. He’s won practically every trophy on offer at club and international level, all while being one of the best playmakers of his generation.
Whether he’s playing as a number 10 or off the right-hand side, the 36-year-old is a constant threat to the opposition with his elite passing range and silky dribbling skills.
Since re-joining Benfica last year, he’s still producing the goods to this day as he’s racked up 16 assists since returning to Portugal.
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3. Kevin De Bruyne – 304 assists
Perhaps the greatest playmaker that the Premier League has ever seen, there are only two active players who have more assists than the Belgium star.
He was the quickest player in Premier League history to reach 100 assists, achieving the landmark tally in just 237 games.
“He is a masterclass player, one of the best players I have ever trained in my life,” Pep Guardiola said when describing De Bruyne back in 2020.
While injuries have somewhat slowed him down of late, he’s still got plenty of magic left in his boots. Fingers crossed he sticks around in England for a little longer.
2. Thomas Muller – 317 assists
An ever-present member of the Bayern Munich XI for over a decade, Muller undoubtedly ranks as one of the best creators of the 21st century.
Even in recent years where he’s taken on a squad role, he still manages to produce elite playmaking numbers. For example, the 35-year-old chipped in with 12 assists last season, despite only starting in 25 matches across all competitions.
If you love football, you can’t help but appreciate someone like Muller.
1. Lionel Messi – 375 assists
Who else? Messi tops this chart with ease with a whopping 375 assists to his name for club and county.
Along with being one of the most clinical players of the 21st century, there’s little doubt that Messi is the outright best playmaker of his generation.
Whether he’s dancing around defenders or picking out a defence-splitting pass, he can open up the opposition with ease and is still going strong today in MLS.
Throughout his entire career, Messi has averaged 0.35 assists per game which is pretty mental when you consider he’s played well over 1000 matches in total.
