Best assist passers since Xavi

[Don Alfredo]

I intended this as a reply to @harms in the Modric thread, but realized it focused too much on one aspect of Xavi and had nothing to do with Modric instead.

It's close, but probably still Xavi. Depends on the rest of the team though, if you can build a team around Xavi, then him, while Modric allows a bit more variety. Although I'm not saying that Xavi can only play in a tiki-taka system like some do. His peak was absolutely ridiculous — I don't remember any other recent player making 30 assists in a season, even Messi (I could be wrong, of course, haven't checked those stats).

It's hard to say no to Scholes, who is in my top-3 favourite United players (alongside Cantona and Sir Bobby), but I think that those two surpassed him — not by much though.

I looked for seasons with 20+ assists in all comps to compare it with Xavi's 30. Didn't find a good statistic for all comps, so looked them up individually at transfermarkt.


Xavi 08/09 - 30 assists (never reached 20 assists in other seasons)
Kevin De Bruyne 14/15 - 28 assists (hit 23 assists in 16/17 and 21 assists in 17/18)
Juan Mata 12/13 - 35 assists (20 assists in 11/12, 20 in 08/09)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan 15/16 - 32 assists
Mesut Özil 11/12- 29 assists, 10/11 - 29 assists, 09/10 - 29 assists (24 in 12/13, 20 in 15/16, 23 in 08/09)
Eden Hazard 12/13 - 24 assists (22 assists in 11/12)
Neymar 16/17 - 27 assists (25 in 15/16)
Luis Suarez 15/16 - 25 assists (23 in 14/15)
Angel Di Maria 10/11 - 26 assists (15/16 - 25 assists, 13/14 - 25 assists)
Franck Ribery 11/12 -27 assists (23 in 12/13, 22 in 10/11, 20 in 08/09, 20 in 07/08)
Lionel Messi 11/12 - 35 assists (24 in 15/16, 27 in 14/15, 28 in 10/11)
Cristiano Ronaldo 14/15 - 22 assists (20 in 06/07)
Karim Benzema 12/13 - 21 assists
Wayne Rooney 13/14 - 22 assists
Luis Nani 10/11 - 20 assists
Christian Eriksen 16/17 - 23 assists
Thomas Müller 11/12 - 20 assists
Andres Iniesta 12/13 - 23 assists
Dimitri Payet 17/18 - 24 assists (21 in 14/15, 23 in 12/13)
Luis Alberto 17/18 - 21 assists
Raheem Sterling 16/17 - 21 assists
Ousmane Dembele 16/17 - 21 assists
Emil Forsberg 16/17 - 22 assists
Cesc Fabregas 14/15 - 24 assists (22 in 13/14, 20 in 11/12, 20 in 09/10, 22 in 07/08)
Marek Hamsik 12/13 - 20 assists

I did the maths and found 3 seasons better than Xavi's 30 assists in 08/09. The takeaway is that there have been a bucket load of seasons with 20+ assists in the last few years. The assist king is Ozil, 3 seasons in a row with 29 assists each and a record 6 seasons with 20+ assists

Number of Seasons with 20+ assists

Ozil 6
Ribery 5
Fabregas 5
Messi 4
Mata 3
De Bruyne 3
Di Maria 3
Payet 3
Neymar 2
Suarez 2
Hazard 2
Ronaldo 2
Mkhitaryan 1
Xavi 1
Iniesta 1
Eriksen 1
Rooney 1
Forsberg 1
Benzema 1
Sterling 1
Dembele 1
Alberto 1
Müller 1
Nani 1
Hamsik 1

Didn't check any players older than Xavi and had to go off my head to decide who to check, so there may be some obscure player I missed. Xavi's peak numbers were great, but not unique and his general assist performance has been topped by a rather large number of players in the last few years.

I also want to talk about which team someone played in, it is much easier to rack up many assists if you have Messi or Ronaldo in front of you.

The standouts in that aspect are Ozil at Werder Bremen, De Bruyne at Wolfsburg and Payet at Marseille. Honourable mentions to Hazard at Lille, Alberto at Lazio (he had Immobile tbf, close to Ronaldo level in Italy), Forsberg at Leipzig and Mata at Valencia.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

It sucks to see those stats and recall how poorly Mata's career went downward since Jose arrived at Chelsea the second time.

 

[Prometheus]

It sucks to see those stats and recall how poorly Mata's career went downward since Jose arrived at Chelsea the second time.

He's too nice. Should have left United as soon as Jose arrived.

 

[El Pasillo]

Assists doesn't say anything about someone being a great passer.

Wayne Rooney has made more assists than Denis Bergkamp, but noone (or few) would say the former is a better passer.

 

[SpyLuke10]

Wow I didn't realise that Messi also got 35 assists in 2011/12. A different beast that season. On another level. I knew he scored like 91 goals for club and country.

Does this include country?

Also 22 assists for Rooney in the Moyes season. Impressive. His last really good season for us imo (individually).

 

[diarm]

I love Xavi to bits, but how many of those assists were simple passes to Messi who went on to beat 17 players before chipping the keeper?

 

[Ekeke]

Assists doesn't say anything about someone being a great passer.

Wayne Rooney has made more assists than Denis Bergkamp, but noone (or few) would say the former is a better passer.

You just spoke about 2 different things.

Rooney was a great passer. That doesnt mean he was or wasnt a better passer than Bergkamp

 

[Ekeke]

I love Xavi to bits, but how many of those assists were simple passes to Messi who went on to beat 17 players before chipping the keeper?

Most

 

[El Pasillo]

You just spoke about 2 different things.

Rooney was a great passer. That doesnt mean he was or wasnt a better passer than Bergkamp

Having more assists ≠ better passer, which was the point I was making.

On the flip side, Iniesta has never delivered 20+ assists but it's clear for anyone that he's ridiculously good for finding his teammates.

Assists dosn't always tell the full story.

 

[Don Alfredo]

Wow I didn't realise that Messi also got 35 assists in 2011/12. A different beast that season. On another level. I knew he scored like 91 goals for club and country.

Does this include country?

Also 22 assists for Rooney in the Moyes season. Impressive. His last really good season for us imo (individually).

The assists stats in the op include all comps in a season for your club, no international games

 

[Ekeke]

Having more assists ≠ better passer, which was the point I was making.

On the flip side, Iniesta has never delivered 20+ assists but it's clear for anyone that he's ridiculously good for finding his teammates.

Assists dosn't always tell the full story.

But again you spoke about 2 different things.

Theres more than one way to be a great passer. Like Xavi and Iniesta's strength, keeping the ball and finding the feet of dangerous players who are capable of going past players and scoring or assisting goals.

Or someone who plays the percentages with defence splitting creative passes where a forward just needs to take a touch and finish or sometimes finish first time. Both can be great.

 

[harms]

Thanks @Don Alfredo

Still, Xavi was a central midfielder, unlike most of them (only De Bruyne played in a similar role), and those assists were basically a bonus on his incredible midfield dominance.

 

[damageinc.]

Marek Hamsik 12/13 - 20 assists

 

[Don Alfredo]

Thanks @Don Alfredo

Still, Xavi was a central midfielder, unlike most of them (only De Bruyne played in a similar role), and those assists were basically a bonus on his incredible midfield dominance.

Yeah he was a central midfielder, but he also always had 2 midfielders besides him so I think it's somewhat okay to compare him to central playmakers like Ozil / Eriksen / De Bruyne who are not known for their goalscoring. You could also compare him to Kroos if you want

His assists since Guardiola until he left Barca: 30, 18, 15, 16, 13, 6, 10.
And before: 9, 6, 2, 13, 14, 9, 13
01/02 was Xavi's first starting season. His average for Barca since starting for them is 12 assists per season (including his 30 assists outlier).

Kroos assists since starting for Leverkusen in 09/10: 12, 8, 19, 8, 9, 15, 13, 16, 10.
Average: 12 assists per season

For that one season, it was ridiculous and like a merger of Ozil and Kroos into one.

You could even argue his peak under Guardiola was very good in terms of numbers, 20 assists per seasons based on average. I just can't compare that to other players since the sample base is superficial.

I think Xavi got a push through the Guardiola system and Messi's rise to the top in 2009. The only explanation I have for the huge statistical outlier of the 2009 season is that he played with the best front line he ever had (Messi, Eto'o, Henry), besides the MSN seasons where he was already past it.

Marek Hamsik 12/13 - 20 assists

Great shout. That trio of Cavani / Hamsik / Lavezzi.

In the end, I think all three of them had underwhelming careers based on the promise they had at Napoli. Lavezzi and Cavani moved to the wrong club and Hamsik missed his window for a move to a title winning club.

 

[pan pan]

Didn’t Fabregas get 20+ assists in the 14/15 season?

 

[Gio]

Thanks @Don Alfredo

Still, Xavi was a central midfielder, unlike most of them (only De Bruyne played in a similar role), and those assists were basically a bonus on his incredible midfield dominance.

Aye. What’s striking is that he’s the only 6 on the list.

 

[ivaldo]

Anyone mentioned Milner yet?

 

[Don Alfredo]

Didn’t Fabregas get 20+ assists in the 14/15 season?

I completely forgot about him. Has had some great seasons as well and ridiculous consistency

Cesc Fabregas 14/15 - 24 assists (22 in 13/14, 20 in 11/12, 20 in 09/10, 22 in 07/08)

Will add him to the list for sure. Enters in 3rd place in front of Messi

Aye. What’s striking is that he’s the only 6 on the list.

Why do you call him a 6? Genuinely interested.

He usually had someone like Busquets, Yaya or Keita covering for him. Sometimes even Alonso and Busquets when playing for Spain. In my book, he played as an 8 next to another 8 (or an 8/10 hybrid if that is what you want to call Iniesta and Deco).

Anyone mentioned Milner yet?

He had some very productive seasons, but never hit 20 in all comps. Certainly one of the most "low-key" names, but worthy to be part of the discussion. Underrated career

 

[El Pasillo]

In the end, I think all three of them had underwhelming careers based on the promise they had at Napoli. Lavezzi and Cavani moved to the wrong club and Hamsik missed his window for a move to a title winning club.

How exactly had Cavani an underwhelming career after leaving Napoli when he ended up as PSG's all-time top scorer while winning titles for them?

And he's been showed up consistently in UCL, especially against big teams.

 

[Gio]

Why do you call him a 6? Genuinely interested.

He usually had someone like Busquets, Yaya or Keita covering for him. Sometimes even Alonso and Busquets when playing for Spain. In my book, he played as an 8 next to another 8 (or an 8/10 hybrid if that is what you want to call Iniesta and Deco).

He drops to take the ball off the back line, which is typically the role of a 6. Obviously Busquets also has that job and is a more static pivot, which blurs the typical number definitions somewhat. I wouldn't argue with him getting called an 8 either to be fair. Main point though is that any statistical comparison should be looking at players who operated in a similar area of the park, such as Pirlo, Alonso, Schweinsteiger, rather than the 10s who will inevitably top these lists because of their positioning higher up the field.

 

[Don Alfredo]

How exactly had Cavani an underwhelming career after leaving Napoli when he ended up as PSG's all-time top scorer while winning titles for them?

And he's been showed up consistently in UCL, especially against big teams.

He never won the CL and never won a league title in a top 4 league. Don't want to belittle the french league, but the title is less worth if PSG wins it. Imagine if Ibra only had his PSG titles and never did it at 3 clubs in Italy. Would he be regarded as highly?

He drops to take the ball off the back line, which is typically the role of a 6. Obviously Busquets also has that job and is a more static pivot, which blurs the typical number definitions somewhat. I wouldn't argue with him getting called an 8 either to be fair. Main point though is that any statistical comparison should be looking at players who operated in a similar area of the park, such as Pirlo, Alonso, Schweinsteiger, rather than the 10s who will inevitably top these lists because of their positioning higher up the field.

I think we don't disagree by much. I did a comparison with Kroos in my last post, who is the player most similar to Xavi. Alonso, Schweinsteiger, Busquets, those players were the most defensive midfielders at many points during their career. They are more appreciated for battling it out with opposing number 10s, they are better at tackling and bring more physicality. Schweinsteiger was sometimes more box2box at Bayern, but was the most defensive at the NT. Could you ever imagine Xavi defending against Messi like he did?

Pirlo is a weird case, he often played in 4-man-midfields at Milan, Juve and Italy. The archetypical DLP, but I don't want to call him a 6 because of his playing style and he is no 8 either in terms of positioning. Maybe a deep lying number 10?

Midfield notation is weird anyway, thinking about it makes my head hurt

 

[Brightonian]

Just imagine what Mata would be if he was just a little more athletic.

 

[Yagami]

Alberto at Lazio (he had Immobile tbf, close to Ronaldo level in Italy)

I'd argue the opposite myself. Luis Alberto was immense this past season. Easily their best player for me.