For every great goal, there’s often an equally brilliant assist-a little slice of creative magic that has set the whole thing up. Assists are the lifeblood of team play, embodying a player’s vision, technical ability, and selflessness all rolled into one.
As fans, we love talking about goals, but there’s something particular about that player who can thread the perfect pass, unlock a defense, and provide their teammates with the chance to shine.
Speaking about the world’s best assist-makers, we talk of legends of the game, players who throughout their careers have mastered the art of creating chances.
Below are the top five players to have provided the most assists in football history.
1. Lionel Messi – 398 Assists (Inter Miami)
Every time the name Lionel Messi comes to mind, the first thing that arguably comes to mind is his jaw-dropping goal-scoring record.
Messi is way beyond being just a prolific goal scorer; he is actually a playmaker par excellence, and it is not a surprise seeing him at the top of this list with 390 assists.
The thing is, Messi’s assists aren’t your run-of-the-mill passes; they’re just pure moments of genius-a perfectly weighted through ball, an inch-perfect cross, or a no-look pass that leaves defenders looking dumbfounded. He can find a way to create a scoring opportunity from almost anywhere on the pitch.
Take his time with Barcelona, for instance. For over 15 years, Messi was inventive at the heart of one of the most powerful teams in football history.
His combination with players like Neymar and Luis Suarez was nothing out of the ordinary. The famous MSN trio-Messi, Suarez, and Neymar-had terrorized defenses for years with Messi playing both as a finisher and a provider.
His assist record is made all the more remarkable by his development as a player. In the early days, he was more of a winger or a false nine who relied on scoring rather than creating.
As his game matured through the latter half of his career in Barcelona, however, he started assuming responsibilities further down the field. This allowed him to use his vision and intelligence to unlock defenses from midfield.
Now, even after joining Inter Miami in 2023, his role has evolved further.
His years of experience and footballing brain have turned him into a deep-lying playmaker, showing that even in the twilight of his career, he can still deliver assists with the best of them.
2. Thomas Müller – 299 Assists (Bayern Munich)
Müller is about plain, old football intelligence. He is not your typical creative player; no flash moves, no funny dribbles. His game is based upon positional awareness, timing, and an ability to find space most people don’t even know exists.
Müller himself coined the term “Raumdeuter,” which, roughly translated, means “space interpreter.” It is a fitting description of his playing style. The true genius of Müller lies in his movement off the ball.
He always seems to pop up in the right place at the right time either to score himself or to provide the crucial final pass.
Over the past decade, he has consistently been one of the most effective playmakers in football whenever the need arises for him to play either as a forward or an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich.
His pairing with Lewandowski was one key factor behind Bayern’s stronghold in the Bundesliga and their triumph in the 2020 Champions League. He often drifted into pockets of space, dragging defenders out of position before a perfectly timed layoff for Lewandowski to finish.
What differentiates Müller from a lot of the other players on this list is his consistency.
Season after season, he chalks up assists with little fanfare or fuss. While a lot of other players would possibly base their game on flamboyant skills, Müller’s assists are the end product of intelligent positioning, razor-sharp decision-making, and uncanny capability to read the game.
SEE ALSO | 5 Players With The Most Goals From Outside The Box
3. Luis Suárez – 288 Assists (Inter Miami)
While the Uruguayan forward is popularly known to have predatory instincts in front of goal, few actually remember that he is equally good at setting up his teammates.
Having 288 assists to his name, he has made a case for himself as one of the most complete forwards in football history.
In Liverpool, he proved to be one of the best strikers in the world. But in Barcelona, he really developed into a world-class goalscorer and playmaker. He was at the heart of the aforementioned MSN trio, where his understanding with Messi and Neymar was electric.
What made him such a lethal assist provider was his vision consequently, understanding of space creation for others.
It was always him who would run so willingly, dragging defenders out of position and opening up lanes to be exploited by Messi or Neymar.
All the same, he possessed the technical quality to send on-target precise crosses, through balls, or flick-ons that allowed him to create chances for his teammate.
Now, at Inter Miami alongside Messi once again, the assists continue to pile up for him. His facility to drop deep and connect the play has been priceless, with his goal-scoring total, for most of his career having noticeably dropped in the latter parts.
The assists are just an attestation of how all-round his football ability is; Suárez isn’t your out-and-out poacher but a complete forward who can do everything.
4. Ángel Di María – 280 Assists (Benfica)
Di María is one of those midfield players who never gets full credit, yet his stats scream volumes. His assists in a glittering career have showcased his exceptional ability to create for his teammates no matter where he plays.
He has worked his career up through some of the biggest clubs in the world: Real Madrid, Manchester United, PSG, Juventus, and now Benfica.
Each stop of the way he’s been a key playmaker, using speed, dangerous dribbling, and pinpoint crossing to provide assists from wide positions.
His time at Real Madrid was the most rewarding. Playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale, he found himself playing the chief supplier in the team of attackers.
The ability to cross with precision and split defenses with intelligent through passes made him one of the most dreaded wingers in Europe.
He can play on either flank, as a number 10, or even as a central midfielder when required. His creativity knows no bounds, and the fact that he has been able to adapt his game to fit teams and systems really speaks volumes about his footballing intelligence.
At 35 years of age, he still lays assists for Benfica. Age is just a number if someone has such a footballing brain and technical ability.
SEE ALSO | 10 Most Aggressive Players in Football
5. Cristiano Ronaldo – 270 Assists (Al Nassr)
Most think of goals when the name CR7 pops into their mind, and rightly so; he is one of the greatest goalscorers in football history. His contribution to his teams goes beyond just finding the back of the net, with him having also been a prolific creator throughout his career.
The transformation story from a scrawny winger at Manchester United to a mean goal-scoring machine at Real Madrid is well-documented. However, along that journey of transformation, he didn’t lose his ability to create for others.
He has always been a willing passer, capable of delivering pinpoint crosses, clever through balls, and deadly cutbacks.
Over the course of his time at Real Madrid, he found himself in perfect positions where instinctive footballing skills and positional awareness presented him around to assist other players on his team-mates.
Combinations within the squad, such as Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuaín, and Mesut Özil, saw him notch up a reasonably high number of assists, and quite often unselfishly despite his goal-scoring capabilities.
As Ronaldo has gotten older and moved from Real Madrid to Juventus and now Al Nassr, his role has slightly changed. Gone is the explosive winger who would take on three defenders before laying off an assist; instead, he’s become more of a leader on the pitch who dictates the pace of the game and uses his experience to create different opportunities for those around him.
This has continuously shown that Ronaldo is not just a goal machine but an all-around player with the ability to contribute in all phases of the game.
The Art of the Assist
What binds these five players together is that they can see and play the passes that others cannot. An assist is more than putting the ball in front of the feet of the goalscorer; an assist is about seeing, timing, and understanding the game, beyond just individualistic skills.
- Messi utilizes his intelligence and technical ability to manipulate space and create opportunities for teammates.
- Müller relies on his positional awareness and football IQ to make sure he is always in place at the right time.
- Suárez has blended vision with technical abilities, offering a perfect balance of goalscoring and playmaking.
- Di María brings flair and creativity from wide positions, with pinpoints in crosses and passes into the box.
- Ronaldo, despite being the one more known for scoring goals, is truly a leader and creator who will put his teammates in the limelight.
Each of these players had a different path, but one thing remained constant in their respective games: making those around them better.
Assists might not make headlines as goals do, but without them, most of the greatest moments in football wouldn’t even have happened.
Playmaking and assists continue to prove that with the evolution of football, they would still prove as vital as ever.
