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In football, playmaking is just as important as goalscoring. A team needs creators just as much as it needs strikers. The playmakers are the ones who help connect the dots on the field and act as the link between the defence or midfield and the goalscorers.
Assists are a good measure of a player's creativity
We have seen plenty of world-class playmakers in the 21st century. The number of assists a player provides is a good measure of how important he is to his side's build-up play. It also shows how much he affects games and is also reflective of how frequently he contributes to goals for his side.
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Without further ado, let's take a look at five players with the most assists for both club and country since 2020.
#5 Bruno Fernandes (Portugal/Manchester United) - 35 assists
Bruno Fernandes is inarguably Manchester United's most influential signing in recent years. The Portuguese maestro is an incredible attacking midfielder with unreal vision and the technical ability to execute staggering passes.
He is also a midfielder with an eye for goal and the Manchester United talisman scores aplenty too. Fernandes is all about quick thinking and execution. Like all world-class players, he is aware of what is happening around him and is always looking for his forwards' runs.
The 27-year-old has been in spectacular form in the 2021-22 season so far as well. He has created a whopping 37 chances in the Premier League this season. The second highest chance creators in the league are Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish and they have both created 26 each.
Fernandes has provided 35 assists in 112 appearances across all competitions for both club and country since 2020.
#4 Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain) - 35 assists
Kylian Mbappe has already established himself as one of the best players in the world and he is still only 22. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has been world-class for about four years now.
Mbappe's staggering pace, footwork and burst of pace make him a nightmare to defend against. He also shows a great amount of composure inside the final third which allows him to score plenty of goals and rack up a lot of assists.
Mbappe has been phenomenal for PSG since joining them in the summer of 2017. He has picked up a total of 35 assists in 96 appearances across all competitions for both club and country since 2020.
#3 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain) - 37 assists
Lionel Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time. His numbers speak for themselves. Messi has just been an otherworldly presence on the football pitch, relentlessly dancing past defenders and humiliating goalkeepers for more than a decade and a half.
Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer and is yet to score a goal or provide an assist in the league this term after five appearances. It is very uncharacteristic of him as he is usually prolific on both fronts.
Messi was the architect in chief as Argentina won the Copa America this summer. He scored four goals and provided five assists in seven appearances for La Albiceleste in the continental competition. He won the Golden Boot and the Best Player Award as well.
Messi has provided a total of 37 assists in 98 appearances for club and country since 2020.
#2 Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City) - 38 assists
Kevin De Bruyne is easily one of the best midfielders of his generation. The Manchester City midfielder was the recipient of the PFA Players' Player of the Year Award in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
He has been nothing short of phenomenal for Pep Guardiola's men over the last several campaigns. De Bruyne's vision, passing range and shooting ability make him an elite attacking midfielder.
He is capable of pulling off nearly inconceivable passes and is one of the most technically proficient players on the planet right now.
In the 2019-20 season, the Belgian international matched Thierry Henry's record for most assists in a single Premier League season by picking up 20. De Bruyne has provided 38 assists in 86 appearances in all competitions for club and country since 2020.
#1 Thomas Muller (Germany/Bayern Munich) - 48 assists
Thomas Muller has been one of the most consistent footballers on the planet for over a decade now. The Bayern Munich man has mastered the art of movement both in and out of possession. He has fashioned his game around exploiting spaces and playing alongside him would be any striker's dream.
The self-styled 'Raumdeuter' or 'space interpreter' has been racking up incredible numbers for both club and country in recent years. Muller registered as many as 24 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich in the 2020-21 season.
He leads the assists provider chart since 2020 by a huge margin. The 32-year-old has provided 48 assists in 93 appearances across all competitions for club and country since 2020.
