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In football, the goalscorers have always been the ones taking all the glory but creating chances and providing the assists is an art in itself. There are certain qualities that separate prolific goalscorers from the rest. Similarly, providing assists also requires not only the vision to find spaces between the defenders but also the skill to execute the pass.
Providing key passes before a goal is scored is an underappreciated aspect of the modern game.
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The assistmakers have now started to get recognition as well. The player with the most assists in an English Premier League campaign is recognized with a separate award at the end of the season. The Premier League Playmaker Award was introduced in the 2017-18 season to reward the players who create the most goals for their teams.
On that note, without further ado, let's look at five players who have recorded the most assists in football history for club and country to date.
#5 Angel Di Maria - 263 assists
We kick off our list with Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria. The Argentine playmaker is well known for his creativity. He has been able to rack up double-digit assist figures for every club he has played for in his career. This includes a 10-assist haul even at an ill-fated move to Manchester United.
His penchant for creating chances has brought him a lot of laurels as well. He was the man of the match in Real Madrid's 2014 Champions League finals triumph over Atletico Madrid. He was also the goalscorer and the man of the match in Argentina's 1-0 win over Brazil in the Copa America 2021 final.
23 of these assists have come for the national team, while 240 have come with Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United and now Paris Saint-Germain. He also holds the record for being the player to provide the most assists in a single Ligue 1 campaign as he provided 18 assists in the 2015-16 campaign.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo - 272 assists
It is no secret that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the sport. He broke the 800-goal barrier a few days ago and has now 802 goals to his name. He has been more than just an accomplished goalscorer and has also set up 271 goals for his teammates.
He never managed to finish as the top assists provider at the end of a season. However, he currently leads the all-time assists chart in the Champions League and has 48 assists to his name.
231 of his assists have come with Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid (more than half of his clubs' assists) and Juventus. Meanwhile, he has provided 41 assists with the Portugal national team.
Ronaldo had just four assists in Serie A last season with Juventus and has two so far in the Premier League with Manchester United. It seems his ability to create goals has taken a hit but fortunately he has been prolific as ever in front of the goal.
#3 Luis Suarez - 277 assists
Luis Suarez established himself as one of the greatest strikers of his generation during his spell with La Liga giants Barcelona. He was the only player to have won the European Golden Shoe in the last decade when Messi and Ronaldo dominated the goalscoring charts. He won it once with Liverpool in 2014 and once with Barcelona in 2016.
Like many of the modern-day No. 9s, Suarez has also been an active creator of goals. Thanks in part to his six-year spell at Barcelona, he was able to add to his assists tally.
He has 240 assists at club level, with roughly half of them coming for Barcelona. With 37 assists with the Uruguay national team, he is not just the top goalscorer for La Celeste but also the leading assist-provider as well.
He ranks seventh in the assists charts among active players in the Champions League, with 26 goals created for his teammates in the continental competition.
#2 Thomas Muller - 280 assists
Thomas Muller has made a name for himself with his ability to find space between the defensive lines that help him and his assist-providing abilities. The German forward has been highly creative in the last two seasons. He provided a combined 42 assists for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Bundesliga campaigns.
He has a unique style of play and an eye for the goal. This has helped him keep a healthy balance between goals and assists throughout his career. He has 280 assists and 305 goals for club (including Bayern U19) and country.
He has managed double-digit returns for assists in nine seasons for Bayern Munich. He is the joint record holder for the most assists provided in a single top-flight season across Europe's top five leagues with 21 assists. He achieved it in the 2019-20 season, which was matched by Lionel Messi in La Liga in the same campaign.
#1 Lionel Messi - 357 assists
Lionel Messi's dominance in world football was affirmed once again this year. The left-footed forward won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time in November 2021. It has been a memorable year in Messi's career. He won his first major international trophy in the summer and left his childhood club Barcelona for PSG.
Messi won the Copa America 2021 Best Player award, alongside PSG teammate Neymar. He created five goals for his teammates and scored four times in Argentina's title-winning run.
Messi has not had a prolific start at PSG and has just one goal to his name in Ligue 1. He has five assists, though, including three in a game against Saint-Etienne.
He is in a league of his own when it comes to assists for club and country. He has set up 306 goals at club level while also setting up 51 goals for the Argentina national team.
