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Many fine goalscorers and goal-providers have graced La Liga over the years. While goalscorers often get most of the acclaim, the importance of goal-providers cannot be stated enough.
Some of these prolific providers are still active in La Liga, while others have moved to pastures anew, or recently returned to the competition after a stint abroad. It suffices to say that almost all of them have contributed significantly to title-winning campaigns over the years.
On that note, here's a look at the ten most prolific goal-providers in La Liga since the start of the 2009-10 season:
#10 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) - 55
Toni Kroos is one of the finest midfielders to have graced the game, especially in La Liga in the last decade.
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The two-time La Liga winner has played over 200 games in the competition and has provided over 50 assists. He provided a career-best 12 assists in Real Madrid's triumphant 2016-17 campaign.
Kroos, 31, is known for his metronomic passing ability and prowess from set-pieces.
The 2012-13 continental treble winner is still going strong and has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
#9 Dani Alves (Barcelona) - 55
Dani Alves is widely regarded as one of the best attacking right-backs to have graced the game.
The much-travelled Alves recently rejoined Barcelona as a free agent five years after he left the club. Now 38, Alves may not be the same player he was a decade ago. But his ability to rack up assists with his marauding runs down the right remains second to none.
During his La Liga career, the Brazilian has amassed over 80 assists, with 55 of them coming since the start of the 2009-10 season.
The six-time La Liga winner has had five consecutive La Liga seasons with at least ten assists, four of them with Barcelona.
#8 Marcelo (Real Madrid) - 56
Marcelo is one of the most decorated active full-backs in the game at the moment. The 33-year-old has played nearly 400 games in La Liga since debuting in the competition in the 2006-07 season.
The five-time La Liga winner has racked up almost hundred goal contributions (26 goals, 70 assists) in the competition. Most of these assists have come since the 2009-10 campaign.
In his team's triumphant 2016-17 La Liga campaign, the Real Madrid captain scored twice and provided ten assists. Marcelo is yet to register a goal contribution this season, though.
#7 Jordi Alba (Barcelona) - 57
Jordi Alba, like Marcelo, is one of the best left-backs plying their trade in La Liga at the moment.
The 32-year-old has made nearly 350 appearances in the competition, most of them for Barcelona. A five-time La Liga winner, Alba has racked up over 50 La Liga assists, playing a key role for his team over the years.
Alba has already provided four assists in La Liga this season, the most by a Barcelona player.
It remains to be seen if the veteran full-back can continue his exploits under new Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez after the international break.
#6 Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla) - 58
Ivan Rakitic is one of the finest midfielders currently playing in La Liga. The former Barcelona player has made over 360 appearances in the competition, racking up over 50 goals and as many assists.
Deemed surplus to requirements at the Nou Camp, the 33-year-old returned to Sevilla last summer, and has fared decently. Rakitic has never been a prolific goalscorer, but he has been a steady goal-provider in La Liga over the years.
In his most successful La Liga campaign till date, Rakitic amassed 12 goals and as many assists in 2013-14. Those numbers came during his first stint at Sevilla.
#5 Koke (Atletico Madrid) - 73
Koke has had a successful La Liga career. He is one of the last vestiges of the true one-club men in the Spanish top flight.
Still only 29, Koke has racked up over 350 appearances in La Liga, all for Atletico Madrid, since his debut in the competition in 2009-10. One of the most underrated midfielders in the game, the Spain international played a stellar role in the Rojiblancos' triumphant 2013-14 campaign.
He scored six goals and provided 14 assists as Atletico won their first league title in nearly two decades.
Koke wasn't as impactful in Atletico's La Liga-winning campaign in 2020-21, providing just three goal contributions (one goal, two assists). But he continues to be a key cog in Diego Simeone's team.
#4 Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid) - 73
Luis Suarez is one of the most prolific goalscorers to have graced the game since the turn of the century. However, not many know that he has also been a stellar provider of assists.
The five-time La Liga winner has scored over 170 goals and bagged 70 assists in the competition for two different clubs. The Atletico Madrid striker provided 24 goal contributions (21 goals, three assists) in the Rojiblancos' triumphant league campaign last season.
Suarez has recorded four consecutive ten-assist La Liga campaigns. He starred with 40 goals and 18 assists in Barcelona's triumphant 2015-16 campaign.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo - 87
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only two players to have scored over 300 La Liga goals. However, the two-time La Liga winner has also been a prolific assist provider in the competition.
During his nine-season stint in the Spanish top flight with Real Madrid, Ronaldo racked up close to 100 assists. While his 48 goals in the 2014-15 edition hogged the limelight, the Portuguese provided a career-best 16 assists in that campaign too.
Now with Manchester United, Ronaldo could have won more than two La Liga titles, if not for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
#2 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) - 97
Karim Benzema has continued to age like fine wine since making his La Liga debut in 2009-10.
The 33-year-old Real Madrid forward recently became the club's most prolific assist provider in La Liga this season. Having recently scored his 200th goal in the competition, Benzema is now closing in on a century of assists.
The 2021 UEFA Nations League winner has made a blistering start to his 2021-22 La Liga campaign. Benzema has scored ten goals and provided seven assists to power the Merengues to within a point of leaders Real Sociedad, albeit with a game in hand.
#1 Lionel Messi - 165
Lionel Messi is a bonafide football legend. The ten-time La Liga winner holds a plethora of records in the competition, including most goals and most assists, to name a few.
Now at PSG, the Copa America 2021 winner racked up 165 assists in La Liga since the start of the 2009-10 season. Despite Barcelona enduring their first trophyless campaign in a decade in 2019-20, Messi broke the record for most assists (22) that season.
In his most prolific La Liga campaign in terms of goal contributions, Messi registered 69 goal contributions (50 goals and 19 assists) in 2011-12.
It was a shame that Real Madrid pipped Barcelona to the league title that season, despite Messi's staggering exploits.
