Top 10 best passers in football right now

While a shot is required to put the final touch, passing is what leads to it. In football, there are some players who make passing look effortless, almost as though they were born with the talent.

And the objective of this list is to convey their names. The criteria used to choose these players is having a minimum average of 55 passes-per-game, at least 88% passing accuracy and 1 key pass-per-game in the least.

Before we start over, here are some of the players that deserve an honourable shout.

Note: The stats used here are only for league games.

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Honourable mentions

Kalidou Koulibaly – 86.9 passes-per-game, 91.4% accuracy, 3.4 long balls-per-game and 0.3 key passes-per-game

Borja Valero – 64.9 passes-per-game, 91.3% accuracy, 3.8 long balls-per-game and 1.2 key passes-per-game.

Raul Albiol – 82.3 passes-per-game, 90.2% accuracy, 10 long balls-per-game (that is just plain insane) and 0.3 key passes-per-game.

Mesut Ozil – 70 passes-per-game, 86.7% accuracy, 2.2 long balls-per-game, 3.1 key passes-per-game and 7 assists.

Sergio Busquets – 72.8 passes-per-game, 90.1% accuracy, 4.8 long balls-per-game, 0.8 key passes-per-game and 3 assists.

Ivan Rakitic – 71.7 passes-per-game, 90.6% accuracy, 4.2 long balls-per-game, 0.9 key passes-per-game and 4 assists.

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#10 Luka Modric

A Croat genius

One of the reasons why Luka Modric is regarded as one of the best midfielders is due to his ability to make seemingly effortless passes through the defense. The Croat is a silky passer of the ball and his stats prove just that.

In the games that he has played in the league this season, he has made 63.4 passes-per-game with an accuracy of 89.7%. Modric has also made 1.4 key-passes-per-game this season thus far and has an assist to his name.

This might not seem like a lot, but he plays very deep and doesn’t really involve himself much in the final third. Finally, he has 5 long balls-per-game.

#9 James Rodriguez

James is on fire at the moment

Among the players on this list, he has the least number of passes-per-game. With only 58.8 passes per game, he makes it to this list because of his sheer brilliance. James place in an advanced position, so having lesser number of passes is natural.

What is unnatural, however, is the accuracy with which he makes passes. With an accuracy of 90.1%, he is among the most precise passers in the world. He also makes 4.2 long-balls per-game while making 2.6 key passes in each of them.

And at the end of the day, he has 6 assists to his name.

#8 Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich is highly talented

A list like this without Kimmich is no list at all. The versatile German is among the most technically gifted players in the world and his numbers prove just that. So far this season, he has made 61 passes-per-game with an accuracy of 89.1%.

On top of that, he makes 2.1 key passes-per-game, while also making a commendable 5.6 long-balls-per-game. And the best part is that he has made 8 assists so far this season, putting him on the pedestal held by the top echelons of football.

#7 Miralem Pjanic

Pjanic is a beast

At number 7 is Juventus’ number 5, Miralem Pjanic. The Bosnian is regarded as one of the best passers of the game and is one of the best midfielders in the game right now. He is on this list because he can pass the football majestically.

Indeed, the former Lyon star makes 65.8 passes-per-game with an accuracy of 89.5%. He has 7 assists to his name so far this season and, makes 2.2 key-passes in every game and that’s not even the best part. So what is the ‘best part’?

5.2 accurate long balls-per-game.

#6 David Silva

The bald magician

We now enter the holy zone of this list, and the first player in the top 6 is the Merlin of Manchester City, David Silva. He is the heart through which the blood of City is conducted. His stats also bear testament to his capabilities.

He makes 82.8 passes-per-game and with an accuracy of 88.7%. If that wasn’t enough, he also has his share of key-passes and long-balls with 82.8 and 2.7 per-game. The icing on the cake, however, is the 9 assists that he has made thus far in the season.

#5 Thiago Alcantara

Alcantara is Spain's midfield hope

It is quite sad that he plays in the Bundesliga since the rest of the teams in the division are way below the level of the Bavarians. There are games when it is not even a competition for the Spaniard and his stats in the league this season is just a testament to that.

He makes 67.7 passes-per-game with an accuracy of 90.9%. He also makes 1.8 key passes along with 5.4 accurate long balls. He might only have an assist to his name so far this season, but when it comes to passing the ball, he is one of the best players on the pitch.

#4 Jean Michael Seri

O Seri, O Seri!

There is a reason why Barcelona wanted him last summer. Seri is someone who controls the game from midfield with his exceptional ability to pass the ball. Indeed, he makes 84.7 passes-per-game with an accuracy of 90.4%.

That’s not all, however, he also makes 4.9 long-balls, 1.3 crosses and 2 key-passes in each game. He has 3 assists to his name and is one of the best midfielders not only in the French league but also in the world.

#3 Marco Veratti

The best midfielder in France

The first player in the top 3 is none other than Paris-Saint Germain’s Marco Verratti. While he might not yet be regarded as one of the 3 best midfielders in the world, he is definitely among the top echelons of the ‘passing’ society.

Verratti makes 92.4 passes in every game with an accuracy of 90.7%. On top of that, he makes 5.2 long balls in each game while also coming up with 1.2 key passes-per-game. It might seem like a low number, but he plays in front of the defense, so it is actually quite a good number.

#2 Jorginho

The pass-master

When it comes to making a lot of passes in a game, there is no player better than the Italian. This is a man that holds the record of the most passes in a single game, with 180 successful passes against Cagliari last season.

This season, he has made 95.6 passes-per-game, which is insane in itself, and has an 89.3% accuracy while doing so. He has also made 2.5 long balls-per-game and has 4 assists to his name.

Finally, he makes 1.5 key-passes-per-game to prove his worth in making goals.

#1 Toni Kroos

Kroos control

And the best passer in the world is Toni Freaking Kroos. The German is what people would call a passing machine. Indeed, this is a man that can control games in any type of system. For Madrid so far this season, he has made 78.2 passes-per-game and with an accuracy of an astonishing 92.5%.

He also makes 2.4 key passes-per-game and has 4 assists to his name this season. Finally, he is also a great long-ball passer as he makes 5.7 successful long balls in each game. It is one of the reasons why Kroos is revered as one of the best in the business.