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We're giving some love to the great assists.

Planet Football presents the Guti Award shortlist for the best assist of 2025 ft. Messi, Hakimi, Mahrez

Nestor Watach •

Every so often you see an assist so good that they overshadow the goal itself.

But great assists don’t get the recognition they deserve. There’s no equivalent to the Puskas Award for the assist of the year. So we thought we’d right that wrong.

Presenting Planet Football’s Guti award for the best assist of the year. Named after the mercurial Spanish midfielder synonymous with great assists.

Here’s our 10-man shortlist. Reckon there are any ridiculous assists we’ve missed out? Let us know at @planetfutebol on X or @planetfootball.bsky.social on BlueSky.

Yeremay Hernandez

The wonderkid surely won’t be playing in the Segunda Division for fallen giants Deportivo La Coruna for much longer, on this evidence.

The first touch to get away is obscene. The acceleration to reach the penalty area is unreal. And then a backheel cutback to tee up his team-mate.

Outrageous stuff.

RC Deportivo’s Yeremay 70m run into a backheel assist
byu/Wryfyng insoccer

Bruno Santos de Oliveira

The only goal on this list that’s also surely a contender for the Puskas Award.

Back-to-back bicycle kicks to win the league title? Jogo Bonito indeed.

Bycicle kick assist into bycicle kick goal for the win yesterday at the Rio de Janeiro state league
byu/EjaculatingOnNovels insoccer

Randal Kolo Muani

Poetry.

Admittedly we’re docking a few points for him momentarily losing the ball, but we’re including this for the tenaciousness to win it back as well as the perfectly-executed Maradona turn just before.

[Serie A] Randal Kolo Muani assist against Inter in slow-motion
byu/Mister_Allegri insoccer

Vangelis Pavlidis

We might have a winner.

Every touch brilliant. One final nutmeg to cap off the superb close control in the opposition penalty area.

This angle does it justice, too. We could watch this 16-second clip a hundred more times and not get bored.

Achraf Hakimi

Ousmane Dembele must’ve thought he was sharing the pitch with prime Messi once again.

Lionel Messi

Speaking of the great man…

“I saw Luis making the run, and it’s also about our understanding,” Messi said.

“So many years playing together, knowing each other’s movements by heart.

“After sharing so many matches, I practically know his runs by memory.”

Too humble.

Riyad Mahrez

Mahrez has dropped off the mainstream footballing radar while he presumably spends his off-time plunging in a swimming pool full of cash out in Saudi Arabia somewhere.

But this offered us a nice reminder of his brilliance in Algeria’s World Cup qualifiers. It’ll be nice to watch one of the Premier League’s most entertaining players one more time next summer.

Another angle of Riad Mahrez’s assist against Mozambique
byu/bibwow insoccer

Tiago Tomas

That filthy first touch to beat his man earns his nomination.

The nerds at OPTA won’t be having this one as an assist because it was technically an own goal. But we’re having it.

Tiago Tomas assist against Braunschweig [Great assist]
byu/LuNoZzy insoccer

Nick Pope

This might not be the best assist of 2025 but we love the novelty of a goalkeeper setting up a goal.

Absolutely hoyed forward from his gloves? Even better.

You just know Jose Mourinho had a begrudging respect for this one.

Savinho

The Brazilian winger was hit and miss in his debut season with Manchester City, but occasionally he offered us a hint he could become a world-class winger.

This was one of those moments.

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