Ranking the 10 players with the most assists in the 21st century

Bhargav
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of a handful of players with over 250 assists since the turn of the century.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of a handful of players with over 250 assists since the turn of the century.

#6 Angel Di Maria - 258

Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria

Angel Di Maria is one of the most underrated players in the game. For almost the entirety of his career, the Argentine has operated in the shadow of more illustrious teammates like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar, to name a few.

Nevertheless, the 33-year-old has been a consistent performer for club and country over the years. Di Maria didn't score many goals, but his first for Argentina in three years helped Albiceleste win the Copa America 2021 and end their near three-decade-long trophy drought.

The first player to win the Man of the Match award in a Champions League and Copa America final, Di Maria has played his best football since joining French giants PSG in the summer of 2015.

Di Maria racked up 23 assists in all competitions in 2019-20 as PSG narrowly missed out on a continental quadruple after losing to Bayern Munich by a solitary goal in the Champions League final.


#5 Thomas Muller - 260

Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller

Thomas Muller has been one of the most consistent, if not the best, players in the game, especially in the last decade or so.

The 31-year-old, who has played his entire club career at Bayern Munich, has racked up at least ten league assists in all but one of his 12 seasons at the club following his debut campaign in 2008-09. That includes successive 21-assist league campaigns in the last two seasons.

A self-styled Ramdeuter (interpreter of space), Muller is not a conventional striker, his role ranging between that of a centre-forward and an attacking midfielder. The position is akin to a 'false nine' or 'sweeper attacker'.

Nevertheless, the ten-time Bundesliga winner, who has also won two continental trebles and the FIFA World Cup, has been a dazzling performer for club and country. In addition to his impressive tally of assists, Muller has also racked up close to 300 goals.


#4 Mesut Ozil - 267

Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil may no longer be the player he once was, but on his day, the German was second to none in orchestrating his team's play in the middle of the park.

Like most of the other names on the list, Ozil has never been a prolific goalscorer, but he has created chances and goalscoring opportunities aplenty for both club and country.

After consecutive 15-assist seasons in the Bundesliga, Ozil registered 54 assists in three league campaigns at Real Madrid before joining Arsenal in the summer of 2013. The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner holds the record of creating the most chances in a Premier League season (2015-16), a campaign in which he recorded a career-best 19 assists.

With his powers seemingly on the wane and first-team opportunities at Arsenal drying up, Ozil moved to Fenerbahce earlier this year. The German has also been an impressive performer for Germany, racking up 23 goals and 40 assists in almost 100 appearances.

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Edited by Arnav Kholkar
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