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#3 Luis Suarez - 277 assists
Luis Suarez established himself as one of the greatest strikers of his generation during his spell with La Liga giants Barcelona. He was the only player to have won the European Golden Shoe in the last decade when Messi and Ronaldo dominated the goalscoring charts. He won it once with Liverpool in 2014 and once with Barcelona in 2016.
Like many of the modern-day No. 9s, Suarez has also been an active creator of goals. Thanks in part to his six-year spell at Barcelona, he was able to add to his assists tally.
He has 240 assists at club level, with roughly half of them coming for Barcelona. With 37 assists with the Uruguay national team, he is not just the top goalscorer for La Celeste but also the leading assist-provider as well.
He ranks seventh in the assists charts among active players in the Champions League, with 26 goals created for his teammates in the continental competition.
#2 Thomas Muller - 280 assists
Thomas Muller has made a name for himself with his ability to find space between the defensive lines that help him and his assist-providing abilities. The German forward has been highly creative in the last two seasons. He provided a combined 42 assists for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 Bundesliga campaigns.
He has a unique style of play and an eye for the goal. This has helped him keep a healthy balance between goals and assists throughout his career. He has 280 assists and 305 goals for club (including Bayern U19) and country.
He has managed double-digit returns for assists in nine seasons for Bayern Munich. He is the joint record holder for the most assists provided in a single top-flight season across Europe's top five leagues with 21 assists. He achieved it in the 2019-20 season, which was matched by Lionel Messi in La Liga in the same campaign.
#1 Lionel Messi - 357 assists
Lionel Messi's dominance in world football was affirmed once again this year. The left-footed forward won the Ballon d'Or for a record seventh time in November 2021. It has been a memorable year in Messi's career. He won his first major international trophy in the summer and left his childhood club Barcelona for PSG.
Messi won the Copa America 2021 Best Player award, alongside PSG teammate Neymar. He created five goals for his teammates and scored four times in Argentina's title-winning run.
Messi has not had a prolific start at PSG and has just one goal to his name in Ligue 1. He has five assists, though, including three in a game against Saint-Etienne.
He is in a league of his own when it comes to assists for club and country. He has set up 306 goals at club level while also setting up 51 goals for the Argentina national team.
