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Football is a lot of things but I guess we can all agree that goals are perhaps the most important part of it. It is then no surprise that goalscorers are the ones who have ambled away with most of the plaudits. However, just as important are the ones who facilitate the scoring of one.
Some of the greatest footballers of all time are playmakers. The ones that can upend defences with their quick thinking and technical precision. The ones who the goalscorers sprint across to bless with an embrace after they poke the ball home.
Here, we take a look at the top 10 players with most assists in the 21st century.
#10 Stefen Hoffman- 208 assists
Stefen Hoffman is perhaps the least known player on the list. That perhaps has a lot to do with how he has not played at the most popular clubs in the world. The attacking midfielder, however, started his career at Bayern Munich.
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He joined Rapid Wien, commonly known as Rapid Vienna in 2002. He then left the club in 2005 only to return back within a year. Following his comeback, Hoffman kicked on at Rapid Vienna for the next 12 years till his retirement.
The attacking midfielder racked up 208 assists from 609 games for club and country and was also the Austrian footballer of the year on 2 occasions; in 2004 and 2009.
The diminutive midfielder holds a rare distinction in so far as he has never been sent off in his career that almost spanned two decades. The right footed midfielder used to find the net quite frequently as well, scoring 151 goals in his career for both club and country.
#9 Thomas Müller- 224 assists
Thomas Müller is a name the streets will never forget. Müller's playing style is deceptive more than it is flattering or easy on the eye. However, the fact that he is one of the best technicians in the modern game is unquestionable.
A World Cup winner with Germany, Thomas Müller equalled the record for most assists in a single Bundesliga season. He set up 21 goals in 33 games this season for Bayern Munich in addition to scoring 8 goals.
He has been playing for Bayern since the beginning of his career and despite being constantly linked with a move away owing to the steady and relentless stream of attention that he gathers, he continues to be loyal to the Bavarians.
#8 Franck Ribery- 228 assists
The fleet footed Ribery who is notorious for sending defenders tumbling with so much as a drop of a shoulder is undoubtedly one of the footballing greats of our times. The Bayern Munich legend, who is in the twilight of his career, now plays for Serie A outfit Fiorentina.
He has stacked up a whopping 228 assists till now in his career and continues to perform at the highest level. Ribery formed an incomparable partnership with fellow winger Arjen Robben and helped Bayern Munich dominate European football for a short while in the past decade.
The 37-year-old former French international started his professional career with French club Boulogne and had brief spells at Olympique Ales, Brest, Metz, Galatasaray and Marseille before joining Bayern Munich in 2007 and spending the next 12 years of his career with the Bavarians.
#7 Xavi- 230 assists
Arguably the best central midfielder of the 21st century and part of the best international team since the turn of the millenium, Xavi's presence on this list could be done with quite soon but his presence in the hall of fame shall be eternal.
Such is his legacy that you couldn't fathom any side dominating oppositions just as well as a team without Xavi in central midfield. The Spanish maestro racked up 22 assists in the 2008/09 season for Barcelona and it is a record that hasn't been broken till now.
Currently the manager of Qatar Stars League team Al Sadd, Xavi's dream is to return to Barcelona as the head coach of the Cules. He registered a whopping 91% pass accuracy rate at the 2010 World Cup that Spain won and was named in the World Cup all-star team.
He is also the first player to set up a goal each in two consecutive Euro Cup finals. A product of the famed La Masia academy, he has played a club record 700 games for Barcelona and is the recipient of IFHSS World Best Playmaker award 4 times- in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
#6 Cesc Fabregas- 234 assists
Yet another product of La Masia and a constant presence in a couple of the most entertaining sides in world football, Cesc Fabregas was an assist machine over the course of his career where he represented clubs like Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea.
Fabregas has racked up more than 10 assists in 9 seasons and even registered 19 assists in a single season for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea side that won the Premier League in the 2014/15 season.
Though his much awaited return to Barcelona did not exactly meet the heights expected, he still had a memorable time at the club and there is no denying that he has had a stellar career.
Fabregas was also the player that assisted Iniesta's World Cup final goal against Netherlands, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night.
#5 Angel Di Maria- 235 assists
Why Angel Di Maria, perhaps Real Madrid's best player in the 2013/14 season was sold to Manchester United in the summer doesn't make much sense in any respect except the economical one. After initially thriving in the Premier League, the Argentine international seemed to have lost his mojo and exited Manchester United the following summer.
Even in that season, Di Maria picked up 11 assists from 27. Subsequently, it didn't take him much time to gain his mojo back after finding his feet in Ligue 1 playing alongside some of the world's finest players at Paris Saint-Germain.
Di Maria is an exceptional player who has transitioned to a more centrally attacking role in the later years after being a menacing presence in the wing in the early part of his career. He has scored 8 goals and set up 14 this season in Ligue 1 for the French champions.
#4 Mesut Ozil- 253 assists
The Ozil assisting memes couldn't possibly have missed any football enthusiasts in the era of social media. Yet another regret of Real Madrid's, Ozil was forced to call it a day on his burgeoning Real Madrid career due to some baffling top level management decisions.
One man's loss is another man's gain and it was Premier League club Arsenal that benefited from providing a nest for one of the best playmakers of this generation. The 31-year-old German World Cup winner is one of the best attacking midfielders of the 21st century and his stats are a testament to that.
Though he has faded of late, Ozil has had an outstanding career. His assist rate of 0.39 is the best among all the other players who have made it to this list.
#3 Luis Suarez- 256 assists
Luis Suarez is easily one of the three best strikers of the last decade and alongside Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr., he formed the most deadly attacking trio of the 21st century at Barcelona. An absolutely lethal finisher, Suarez is also a great all-round technician as evidenced by his place on this distinguished podium.
Suarez has registered a whopping 256 assists for both club and country over the course of his career which is outrageous for a striker. He is undoubtedly one of those players who is deserving of the tag of complete forward.
Suarez is tricky, can beat a defender in the blink of an eye and packs a mean strike in his right foot and is one of the reasons why Barcelona's domination in Europe extended into the 2nd decade of the 21st century.
His stunning goals on one night against Norwich City in the Premier League is the stuff of dreams.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo - 258 assists
Cristiano Ronaldo's detractors would like to keep reiterating that the Portuguese legend is not a team player. That it is hearsay not based on evidence should be clear to any football fan who has watched him tear apart defences in England, Spain and now, Italy.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest to have ever played the game and after rising to fame at Manchester United, he truly blossomed into one of the greatest of all time at Real Madrid.
Always hungry for challenges and built like no other footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, at the age of 35, continues to be one of the best players in the world. The 5 time Ballon d'Or award winner is currently at Juventus and even there, in a star studded team, he is the best player by a mile.
#1 Lionel Messi- 319 assists
I guess the gulf in numbers speaks for itself as we greet the man who tops the list. A footballing genius whose unwavering loyalty to Barcelona is a rare and distinguished thing these days has captured the imaginations of all football fans since the day he stepped on to the field at Camp Nou as a teenage understudy to some of the modern day greats like Ronaldinho.
The diminutive Argentine is a wizard like no other and is arguably the best forward of his generation. Lionel Messi is all the things a good attacker needs to be. He has impeccable vision, is perhaps the best dribber in the world and has an eye for goal that constantly causes our jaws to drop in awe.
A 6 time recipient of the Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi has bagged almost all the big honours in the game except for an elusive World Cup.
