10 players with the Most Assists in football history (Club + Country)

Goal scoring has always been one of the most crucial parts of football. A team cannot win without scoring goals but one often ignores the creativity behind it. Creating goals is as tough as scoring them. Over the years the demand and price tag have gone upwards for creative midfielders and players who can build up the play and assist the team. In this article, we will focus on the players with the most assists in football history. You can bet on sports directly on your smartphone on the Bluechip io app.

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10 players with the Most Assists in football history (Club + Country):

#10. Xavi | 242 Assists

The former Barcelona and Spain midfielder is known to be one of the best in history alongside his partner Andreas Iniesta. Both Xavi and Iniesta helped Barcelona transform into a powerhouse of European football. Xavi Hernandez, currently managing his former clubs FC Barcelona and Al-Saad had 217 assists in his club career. Along with that, he also had 25 assists for his national team Spain. His 4 UEFA Champions League, 2 Euro Cups and 1 FIFA World Cup are some of the biggest achievements of his career. 

#9 | Franck Ribery | 249 Assists

Just like Xabi, Franck Ribery is regarded as one of the maestros of modern-day football. The French attacking mid-fielder used to switch to a left-winger position to create more opportunities for his team. Ribery came through the ranks of French football and then via Galatasaray and Marseille, he joined FC Bayern Munich in 2007 where he played for almost 13 years and won 1 UEFA Champions League, 9 Bundesliga and 1 FIFA Club World Cup titles. 

Before hanging his boots in 2022, Ribery had 224 assists for his clubs and 25 assists for his national team, France. With 249 assists, he has the 9th highest number of assists in football history.

#8. Cesc Fabregas | 252

At number 8 on the list, we have Cesc Fabregas, one of the most underrated modern-day footballers ever. The Spanish central midfielder had the vision and nack to create great chances for his teams and not only that, used to score a good amount of goals as well. Fabregas started his career with Barcelona youth teams and then moved to England to join the Arsenal Youth team before signing for the senior team in 2004. 

After spending 7 years with the Gunners, he joined Chelsea FC, where he won two Premier League titles. After the success with Chelsea, he returned home to Barcelona and spent 4 years there. In his club career, he had 216 assists besides his 36 assists for Spain. He was part of that great Spanish team which won 2 Euro Cups and 1 FIFA World Cup. 

#7. Mesut Ozil | 258 Assists

Another one of the most underrated footballers of this era, Mesut Ozil was a gun player for the teams he played for. The German attacking mid-fielder had the pace, vision and skill to find the strikers at the right position and contribute more often than for his teams. Ozil started his senior career with FC Schalke and Werder Bremen. But, his move to Real Madrid in 2010 made him one of the stars of the world. 

But, his career blossomed after he joined Arsenal in 2013 and spent 8 years at the club. Ozil in his club career assisted his partners 218 times. For Germany, he had 40 assists. Winning 4 FA Cup titles with Arsenal and the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany is regarded as one of his biggest achievements. He was named the 2014/15 German player of the year too. 

#6. Cristiano Ronaldo | 283* Assists

Arguably, the best goal scorer in history is also one of the highest assist providers. The incredible scoring ability of Cristiano Ronaldo often overshadows his own assists record. The football legend not only scores a ton of goals but also creates a ton for the team. Age is just a number for this man at 39, he still tops the chart of various stats outscoring the young players. Talking only about the most assists, the Portuguese superstar has notched up 131 for Real Madrid, 62 for Manchester United, 22 for Juventus and 6 for Sporting Lisbon at the club level. He has also assisted 46 times while playing for Portugal. With 283 assists and counting, Ronaldo comes sixth on the list of players with the most assists in football history.

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#5. Angel Di Maria | 297* Assists

The Argentine has made transfers for 5 clubs in 5 different countries. No matter which team he has played for, he had a huge impact on them. Di Maria has provided a total number of 267 assists in club games. He went past Ronaldo recently on the list of players with the most assists in football history.

In his two stints for Benfica in Portugal, Di Maria provided 43 assists in 170 games. For Real Madrid, he made 85 assists in 190 appearances for them. His move to Manchester United wasn't fruitful as he could not provide his best for the club he made 12 assists in 32 appearances for them.

His fate changed when he joined PSG, he was one of the best players on the side. The left-footed Argentine made a whopping 119 assists in 295 appearances for the French giants. For Juventus FC, he made 7 assists. He has also assisted his national team 30 times.

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4. Kevin de Bruyne | 301* Assists

One of the best playmakers of his generation and an integral part of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side, Kevin de Bruyne is now one of the four players to have more than three hundred assists in his career. Kevin after getting rejected by Chelsea FC, joined VfL Wolfsburg and later was picked by Manchester City in the 2015/16 season, where he went on to become a club legend. 

Kevin till now has had 252 assists in his club career, of which 168 are for Manchester City. Other than City, he had 36 and 37 assists for KRC Genk and VfL Wolfsburg respectively. The Belgian maestro also assisted his national team players 49 times in his career. De Bruyne won five Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League title with Manchester City.

#3. Luis Suarez | 304* Assists

Luis Suarez is regarded as one of the best no. 9 in the world, if not the best is known for his goals. Suarez has been a vital member of every team he has played in. The best thing about this prolific No. 9 is he creates as much as he scores. Back in the time of MSN in Barcelona, he helped the team to score a lot of goals. The Uruguayan made 113 assists in 283 appearances for Barcelona, his highest for a particular club. Meanwhile, he has notched up 69 for Ajax, 47 for Liverpool, 6 for Atletico Madrid in the two seasons and 7 for FC Groningen back in the day. Suarez has 39 assists for his National team and 304 assists for all clubs combined.

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#2. Thomas Muller | 311* Assists

Germany's Thomas Muller is next on the list of top assist providers. He has been a crucial member of both the German and the Bayern Munich teams. He has contributed to the team's goals day in and day out. The German has an assist count of 40 for the National Team and 271 assists in football for Bayern Munich. Contemplated as one of the most underrated in football history, Muller has won 12 Bundesliga, 2 Champions League and 1 FIFA World Cup in his career. 

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1. Lionel Messi | 411* Assists

The Argentine midget is one of a kind. No player in history matches his abilities both as a goal scorer and a maker. The World considers him at par with Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world. Although the Portuguese star matches his goal-scoring abilities, he falls short of being on par with Messi's creative skills. The 8-time Ballon-D'or winner has a record 355 assists in his club career, 303 of which came for FC Barcelona and 35 for PSG. For the Argentine National team, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner has a total number of 56 assists to his name. 

Recently, he also created history by assisting five times in an MLS game for Inter Miami against New York Red Bulls.

Note - These stats are accurate as of 6 May 2024. The article was first written by Debangshu Biswas and then updated by Koushik Biswas time-to-time