In the football world, where goals often dominate headlines and define legacies, a quieter artistry is equally, if not more, influential—the assist. While the goal-scorer finishes the move, it is often the creator behind the pass, the visionary threading the needle, who truly dictates the rhythm of the game. Assists are the soul of team play, the embodiment of selflessness and strategic brilliance, often requiring as much technical finesse and spatial awareness as scoring itself.
Over the decades, some players have elevated this skill to near perfection, consistently delivering precise passes, crosses, and through balls that unravel the tightest of defences. These footballing maestros have made a career out of making others shine, turning assists into an art form. From elegantly floated balls that meet a striker’s head to inch-perfect through passes that split defenders, their vision has become the invisible engine behind countless historic goals.
This article pays tribute to the Top 10 Players With the Most Assists in Football History—a celebration of those whose genius lies not in the glory of the final touch but in the brilliance of the pass that made it all possible. Their records are not just numbers, but a testament to football’s greatest virtue: teamwork.
10. Angel Di Maria (259 assists)
Angel Di Maria played a key role in helping Argentina get their hands on the 2022 World Cup, his 36th-minute goal boosting Argentina’s march toward world dominance. And across the 35-year-old’s career more broadly, he’s regularly been a key creative force in almost every side he’s played for, whether it’s PSG, Real Madrid, or Benfica. The Argentine continues to play in the Portuguese top division and operate at the international level, so he may move up this list shortly.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo (268 assists)
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest goalscorers in footballing history, but before he swapped Manchester United for Real Madrid and began the process of moulding himself into the insanely clinical No. 9 we now view him as, he was primarily a creative player. It’s hardly surprising, then, that he’s managed to record a whopping 268 assists in his career, and with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, he continues to boost that tally, a mission helped by the club’s signing of fellow European stars like Marcelo Brozovic and Sadio Mane.
8. Ryan Giggs (277 assists)
A versatile winger with excellent crossing ability, intelligent movement and top-notch passing skills, one club man Ryan Giggs went down in history as a Manchester United legend when he retired in 2014. During his time with the Red Devils, he won 13 Premier League titles (more than any other player in history), as well as 4 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and 2 Champions Leagues. With 162 assists in the competition, Giggs has the most assists in the history of the Premier League. A big part of his game during this time was his ability to provide top-quality assists, of which he tallied up a seriously impressive 277 in total.
7. Luis Figo (283 assists)
Luis Figo, the Portuguese sensation who shocked the football world by moving from Barcelona to Real Madrid in the summer of 2000, is the only player with more La Liga assists than Lionel Messi. However, his career should not be remembered for the contentious transfer; Figo was a fantastic player who, in addition to recording 283 career assists for Portugal, Barca, Madrid, Sporting CP, and Inter Milan, served as a major influence on Cristiano Ronaldo, who would go on to become perhaps Portugal’s greatest player of all time.
6. Luis Suarez (293 assists)
Luis Suarez, a talismanic Uruguayan forward, was one of the best players in the world during his prime years with Liverpool and Barcelona. His number of assists is sufficient evidence that he was a threat to even the best defenders in the world due to his deft movement, dribbling ability, offensive vision, and cool finishing. Don’t be shocked if Suarez surpasses 300 assists before he hangs up his boots, because he is now steadily adding to that record with the Brazilian team Gremio.
5. Thomas Muller (302 assists)
Thomas Muller, a self-described Raumdeuter who has a remarkable talent for finding himself in perilous situations at the right moment to deliver a game-winning pass or finish, is a Bayern Munich legend who has made significant contributions to the team’s ten years of Bundesliga supremacy. As a result, he has contributed more than 300 assists for Germany and Bayern throughout the years, and because England captain Harry Kane is currently playing alongside the 33-year-old, there may be many more to come.
4. Johan Cruyff (358 assists)
Cruyff had a significant impact on Dutch football during the 20th century and was one of the creators of the contemporary possession style that is currently preferred by the majority of teams in Europe. While at Ajax in the 1970s, he helped establish the Dutch school of Total Football and won three Ballon d’Or medals. The Netherlands’ finest player ever recorded an absurd number of assists during his career (358 total), which is not surprising considering his amazing inventiveness for both club and country.
3. Pele (369 assists)
Brazil and Santos hero Pele, who is widely considered to be among the best players of all time, led his nation to a record three World Cup victories (1958, 1962, and 1970) with his vision, intellect, inventiveness, and finishing abilities. Throughout his lengthy career, Brazil’s all-time top scorer also recorded an incredible number of assists for both club and country. In addition to his 643 goals from 659 club games, he recorded 369 assists during his career—a record that only the greatest players in history can match.
2. Lionel Messi (377 assists)
Lionel Messi, the World Cup-winning captain of Argentina, is right behind Puskas. Many people believe that the legendary former Barcelona forward is the best football player of all time, and his creative output supports that claim. In addition to his 820 goals and counting, Messi has an incredible 361 assists throughout his club and national team career. Since joining Inter Miami this summer, the 35-year-old has given Major League Soccer an unprecedented amount of international attention, and he is enjoying himself by scoring goals and dishing out assists in the US league. He doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
1. Ferenc Puskas (404 assists)
Ferenc Puskas’s standing in the world of football is demonstrated by the fact that FIFA’s Puskas Award annually bestows a commemorative trophy on the player who scores the “most beautiful” goal of the year. The player with the most assists in football history is the renowned Hungarian forward, who helped his country reach the 1954 World Cup final and won three European Cups with Real Madrid. In 719 career appearances, he scored an incredible 708 goals and provided 404 assists, an incredible attacking record.
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