The one player with more assists than Lionel Messi who has held the record since 1966
Lionel Messi is now closing in on 400 career assists, but there is one player with more assists to his name than the Argentine magician.
Of course, the 38-year-old has more assists than anyone else in the 21st century, but there is one player from back in the day with a slightly superior creative record.
Using the stats gathered from Jobs in Football, here are the five players with the most assists in football history.
5. Thomas Muller – 305 assists
With over 300 assists for club and country, Muller earns his spot in the top five, ahead of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 36-year-old produced the bulk of his assists for Bayern Munich, but is still going strong in MLS today with Vancouver Whitecaps.
With six goals and three assists in his first six MLS appearances, he still looks like he’s got plenty left in the tank yet.
4. Johan Cruyff – 358 assists
A three-time Ballon d’Or winner and regarded as one of the best players of all time, it’s no surprise that Cruyff cracks the top four.
After spending the first nine years of his career playing for Ajax, he moved to Barcelona in 1973 for a world-record transfer fee at the time.
He also boasted a superb record at international level with 33 goals and 28 assists in 48 appearances.
3. Pele – 369 assists
The record-keeping around Pele’s offical goal and assist tally is disputed by various sources.
For the purposes of this article, we’ve credited the Brazilian with 369 assists, which places him third in the all-time rankings.
“Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic,” is how Cruyff described the Brazilian forward.
For some, he’s the greatest player of all time and given the obscene records he broke throughout his career, it’s no wonder he captured the imaginations of so many people who got to watch him live.
2. Lionel Messi – 398 assists
Following his latest two assists for Argentina against Puerto Rico, Messi is now the top assister in international football with 60.
The record was previously held by both Landon Donovan and Neymar, who racked up 58 assists on the international stage.
Overall, for club and country, Messi now has a staggering 398 assists to his name and is just two away from reaching the 400 milestone.
It’s by far the most of any player in the modern generation and given the level he’s still at, he still seems hungry to break more records.
1. Ferenc Puskas – 404 assists
Along with scoring over 800 goals, Puskas also produced 404 assists, making him the top assist provider in football history.
It speaks volumes about just how good the Hungarian forward was, given his creative numbers barely get mentioned when discussing his legacy.
It is worth noting that some sources credit Puskas with fewer than 400 assists, while others have him at 404 – highlighting the difficulty with historical record keeping.
“He had a roly ply physique but a wonderful left foot and he was a brilliant finisher,” is how England legend Sir Tom Finney described the forward.
“I would put Puskas in any list of all-time greats.”
While his tally will almost certainly be overtaken by Messi in the coming months, his record of 404 assists is still incredible nonetheless.
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