Ranking the 5 players with most assists in football history
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.
20 - Kevin De Bruyne has assisted his 20th Premier League goal of the season, a joint-record in the competition alongside Thierry Henry in 2002-03. Master. https://t.co/yIAduR0wRW
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.