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During an illustrious 15-year career, Lionel Messi has eked out a plethora of records that are unlikely to be emulated any time soon.
Barcelona's talismanic captain, one of the last remnants of a soon-to-be-extinct one-club era, is the all-time top-scorer in La Liga (444) and has also provided the most assists in the competition (201) than any other player. In fact, Lionel Messi's contribution to the Blaugrana cause goes beyond numbers.
Messi's wizardry and brilliance on the football field has to be seen to be believed. Possessing a low centre of gravity due to his diminutive stature, the Argentinian has impressive upper-body strength to take on physically imposing opponents with elan.
Five players who have provided the most assists to Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi's prowess in compact spaces is almost other worldly while his ability to dribble at pace can make the world's best defenders look like school boys. Add to that his set-piece prowess and metronomic goal-scoring and assist-making abilities, and one can begin to fathom why Lionel Messi is the creative thrust of the Barcelona attack.
However, the brilliance of Lionel Messi would not have shone through to the extent it has if he was not surrounded by skilful players able to thread inch-perfect defence-splitting passes to areas of the pitch where Messi is at his lethal best, a singular aspect that best explains the wide chasm between the player's performances for Barcelona and Argentina.
On that note, let us have a look at the five players who have provided the most assists to Lionel Messi.
#5 Xavi Hernandez (35 assists)
Although Xavi Hernandez, more commonly known by his first name Xavi, played with Lionel Messi since the latter's Barcelona debut in 2004, it was during Pep Guardiola's famed tiki taka philosophy that the duo struck up a kind of telepathic understanding with each other.
Aided by the brilliant overlapping runs of Dani Alves on the right wing, Messi would cut inside with devastating effect as Xavi Hernandez threaded immaculate defence-splitting passes into spaces where the Argentine could capitalise on.
The partnership between Xavi and Lionel Messi continued to flourish long after the departure of Guardiola as the former was all too happy to play second fiddle to his younger teammate while tirelessly pulling the strings from the Barcelona midfield.
Messi, on his part, hasn't shied away from acknowledging the role of Xavi by paying him the best compliment possible:
"He is the best player in the history of Spanish football."
Incidentally, last season, Lionel Messi broke Xavi's long-standing La Liga record of most assists in a season.
#4 Neymar (36 assists)
Neymar, along with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, formed one-third of arguably the most lethal triumvirate in world football which was affectionately nicknamed MSN.
During a trophy-laden four-season stint with the Blaugrana, the Brazilian, who is renowned for his dribbling prowess, versatility, goalscoring and playmaking ability, scored goals aplenty and also provided assists by the truckload - 77 to be exact - with almost half of them (36) going to Lionel Messi alone.
The duo struck up a great rapport both on and off the field, one that still continues despite the Brazilian leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2017 to join Paris St. Germain.
Messi was very vocal about Neymar rejoining Barcelona last summer, but the move eventually didn't materialise as the Catalan club never made a formal approach for the player.
“The truth is I would have loved him to come back to us. I understand some people were against it and that’s normal considering everything that happened and how he left us, but thinking about it on a sporting level, for me Neymar is one of the best players in the world."
#3 Dani Alves (43 assists)
Brazilian Dani Alves provided a significant number of assists to Lionel Messi - 43 to be exact - as the Argentine formed a dream triumvirate with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona.
That is because Alves and Messi operated on the same side of the field. The marauding right-back made fabulous overlapping runs with Lionel Messi to devastating effect, and his teasing inch-perfect deliveries seldom eluded the Argentine maestro who cut inside to breach the tightest gaps in opposition defences.
26 of Dani Alves' 43 assists for Lionel Messi came in the La Liga alone. Messi enjoyed a great relationship with the Brazilian and has often talked highly about him.
"We've spent many years together, both on and off the field. Day-to-day, we've got a very strong relationship, which is also of a great help on the field -- it means we understand each other's games very well."
Alves, on his part, tore into critics who alluded Lionel Messi's 'decline' to be one of the reasons for Barcelona's trophyless show in 2019-20.
"I still think the one untouchable person in football is Leo (Messi) because of what he brings to the game. Even if things don't turn out well, Leo's always fine. But this is a team sport, and everyone has his responsibility".
#2 Andres Iniesta (44 assists)
Having played with Lionel Messi for almost a decade and a half - the longest any player has featured alongside the diminutive Argentinian - Andres Iniesta has played the most games (489) with his illustrious teammate than anybody else.
The duo together won nine La Liga and four Champions League titles at Barcelona, winning 32 trophies overall, a tally that includes two continental trebles.
Undoubtedly, Lionel Messi was one of the chief beneficiaries of the brilliance of Andres Iniesta, who like Xavi, had an impeccable understanding with the Argentine in the attacking third, especially in the opposition penalty box where Iniesta often broke into.
Lionel Messi has spoken eloquently about the role played by Iniesta in his and Barcelona's success over the years as the two soft-spoken players produced loud performances on the field and shared an excellent camaraderie both on and off it
"He has more contact with the ball than me; he's the person who starts moves, who gets things going. I know how difficult it is to do what he does. His play is different, it comes from when he was very little, even though he has clearly improved over time and with different coaches. Maybe you could say that both of us have something of the street in the way we play," Lionel Messi says about Iniesta in an extract of the book The Artist: Being Iniesta
#1 Luis Suarez (54 assists)
Luis Suarez, along with Neymar and Lionel Messi, formed one of the most feared attacking trios in the history of football as they wrecked havoc against teams both at home and abroad during the three seasons they played together. Affectionately nicknamed MSN, the trio essentially fed of each other, and Barcelona reaped enormous dividends from their prolific partnership.
Even after MSN broke up following the departure of Neymar to Paris St. Germain, Suarez has continued his fruitful association with Lionel Messi on the field.
Perhaps surprisingly, it is Suarez, and not one of Xavi, Iniesta or Alves, who has provided the most assists (54) to Lionel Messi because the Uruguayan striker is more renowned for his goalscoring prowess.
Suarez, operating in a number nine role, and Lionel Messi playing through the centre have provided fireworks galore for Barcelona over the years. The Uruguayan's untiring work-rate and brilliance to manouevre the ball in tight spaces has immensely benefitted Lionel Messi.
In 2018, Suarez broke Dani Alves' record of most Liga assists to Lionel Messi (26).
The former Liverpool and Ajax man, who is widely tipped to leave Barcelona this summer, shares enormous mutual respect with Lionel Messi, with the latter calling Suarez the best number nine ever.
"It's hard to compare him to anyone I've played with. What I can say is that he's the best No. 9 in the world today, that it's a pleasure to play with him, for what he brings to the team. I get on really well with him off the pitch too. I'm very happy to be sharing all this with him."
