Lionel Messi has always been seen as a perfect footballer and he doesn’t fail to show that whenever he is on the field of play.
On our list of players with most assists in Europe’s top 5 league, the former PSG player sits on top with an incredible 357 assists.
While Lionel Messi is awesome, another player that has an insane number of assists in the 21st century despite playing a lot less games than others is City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Kevin de Bruyne is regarded as one of the best playmakers in world football today, and his assists tally in the 21st century currently prove that he is the best.
Though the City man may not be on the top when it coms to players with most assists since 2000, he has made less appearances than the player in the number one spot.
Manchester City Kevin de Bruyne has the highest assist-per-game ratio with a very strong 0.41.
Goalscorers are always seen as the better players on the pitch once they score but it is also fair to give the providers their flowers.
Futballnews brings you the top 10 assist providers of the 21st century as depicted in the image above.
Lionel Messi – 357 (0.35 assists per match)
This just had to be Lionel Messi – the World Cup-winning Argentine legend – We are certain you didn’t expect him not to be at the top.
Messi has been assisting his teammates for the best part of two decades and has the numbers to back it up.
Kevin De Bruyne – 281 (0.41 assists per match)
Kevin de Bruyne has been a sensation since he was rediscovered by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and has proven his worth.
Though he missed out on the top spot, he has played fewer games than anyone else on this list. It is not a bad showing at all from the Belgian maestro.
Ángel Di María – 260 (0.31 assists per match)
Di Maria has found himself at the biggest clubs in each country he has played in throughout his football career.
The Argentine’s ability to blend in with world-class players wherever he goes is almost unrivaled.
Neymar – 248 (0.35 assists per match)
We are certain you are not surprised to see Neymar here on the list, well, he even made it to the top 5.
The Samba star has proven over the years that he doesn’t just know how to dribble with the ball, he can also provide assists when need be.
Luis Suárez – 246 (0.27 assists per match)
Most players we have on this list have played for Barcelona, just like Uruguayan international Suarez.
‘El Pistolero’ as he is fondly called, spread his assists across several clubs and if there was any action in front of goal, he was normally in the mix.
Thomas Müller – 244 (0.31 assists per match)
Thomas Muller is one player that we will always find on a list like this as he has always been in the frontline for his clubside.
The midfielder is always involved for club and country for a reason and has been a goal contributing machine for the majority of his career.
Mesut Ozil – 240 (0.35 assists per match)
This list will not be complete without Mesut Ozil as the former German has proved himself worthy.
Ozil is known as a master with the ball at his feet, the former Arsenal and Real Madrid playmaker always possessed vision that many saw as outrageous.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 236 (0.20 assists per match)
Ronaldo has always been seen as a selfish player who is more interested in scoring than assisting his teammates.
But on the other hand, giving our list here, it showed that the Portugal captain has always provided assist for his teammates.
Dusan Tadic – 234 (0.32 assists per match)
Dusan Tadic, 34, finds himself in elite company as he sets up a teammate once every three games on average.
Though his name has not always been mentioned when it comes to world football, the star man has always helped his team.
Cesc Fabregas – 230 (0.28 assists per match)
Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the 21st century. Aside from providing assists, the Spaniard can detect how a game goes just like Lionel Messi.
He is a player that started as an energetic midfielder that loved to get into the box, but he changed his game afterward to play deeper and still racked up the assists.
