The Players With the Most Assists in the Champions League

The 2024/25 Champions League season took its winter hiatus following the fixtures on the 10th and 11th of December. In a classic feat of timing, the powers that be at UEFA decided that, just as the competition was getting interesting, and the league table was really beginning to mean something, everything should shut down for a six-week winter break.

At the moment, virtually nothing of importance is decided at the top of the table, whilst at the bottom there are just three teams who are definitely eliminated. Whilst the timing of the interval is debatable, it does at least give us a nice chance to take a look over some stats from the competition.

There have been some brilliant team and individual performances in the Champions League this season. Liverpool are the only side with a 100% record as things stand, and amazingly, they have conceded just a single goal in their six games (a feat matched by Inter). At the other end of the pitch, Barcelona have banged home a massive 21 goals, eight more than Arne Slot’s men and three more than Borussia Dortmund, the next-highest scorers.

It should come as little surprise to see Barca players featuring among the top scorers and it is Robert Lewandowski who tops the pile. The Polish striker has seven goals in this season’s CL from just 479 minutes on the pitch. His teammate, Raphinha, once of Leeds, has six, whilst Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy also has six goals to his name, despite having played just 400 minutes of football in the competition.

When it comes to assists there are a number of players level on four from the opening six league-phase clashes. Liverpool’s Mo Salah is among those, but our focus in this article is not on assists in this season alone, but rather on the competition as a whole. Let’s take a look at the top 10 assist-makers in Champions League (post-1992) history.

1) Cristiano Ronaldo, 48 Assists

Ronaldo’s incredible longevity has helped him set many records, several of which it is likely will last for many years to come. It has also helped, when it comes to CL records, that he spent most of his peak years playing for a Real Madrid team that made the competition their own.

He has made more UCL appearances than any other player and the man second on the list is goalkeeper Iker Casillas, a man unlikely to register too many assists. CR7 boasts 183 Champions League outings (101 for Real, 59 for Man United and 23 for Juventus) and managed 48 assists. He is also the leading scorer, with a walloping 140, 11 more (albeit from 20 more games), than you know who (Lionel Messi, not Voldemort, in case you didn’t know who).

2) Ryan Giggs, 45 Assists

Many may have been expecting Voldemort, sorry, Messi, to be second, but instead it is Welsh winger Ryan Giggs. The brilliant Man United midfielder was a joy to watch in his pomp, with incredible balance, pace, trickery and passing ability. He, like Ronaldo and many on this list, had a lengthy career at the top and played 145 games in the UCL. Giggs is also, incidentally, the record assist-maker in the Premier League. Showing just what a creative player he was, his tally of 162 is almost 50% more than Kevin De Bruyne in second.

3) Lionel Messi, 45 Assists

Unlike Ronaldo, Messi has a World Cup to his name, so he’ll probably be content enough to let his old rival have the meagre comfort of topping the CL assist chart. As said, the Argentine played 20 fewer games than Ronaldo though, so boasts a better assists-to-games ratio. But that also serves to further illustrate how good Giggs was, as we rank him second above Messi despite them having the same number of assists as the Man United man made 18 fewer Champions League appearances.

4) Angel Di Maria, 42 Assists

Angel Di Maria’s career ebbed and flowed, with much of the ebbing done in a Man United top. He was a class act though and a superb passer of the ball. He will turn 37 in February but is still playing for Benfica and his assist tally has come from just 112 games, many with Real Madrid and PSG.

5) David Beckham, 38 Assists

Those who question just how good David Beckham was should consider his placing on this list. Moreover, he achieved it all with excellent hair. Oh, sorry, no, he achieved all his assists from just 107 games (and with excellent hair in most of them).

6) Neymar, 36 Assists

Neymar is a divisive figure who seems to have a strange attraction to the turf but at his best he was truly magical. He scored plenty of goals as well but his 36 assists from just 81 CL appearances means he clocked an assist every 2.25 games, the best ratio of any top-10 player.

7) Luis Figo, 36 Assists

Luis Figo played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, which shows just how good he was. A fabulous winger, he played 127 times for Portugal, scoring 32 times. He got his 36 assists from 103 games.

8) Thomas Muller, 34 Assists

Thomas Muller is seventh on the list of top scorers in this competition and eighth for assists. An unfussy player, his numbers show how good he was, and he has played 156 times in the CL, all for Bayern. And he’s still going!

9) Raúl, 32 Assists

Raúl is another who features among the top scorers, boasting 71 goals in this competition from his 142 games. A true Real Madrid legend, he went on to have a decent spell with Schalke too and was a brilliant all-round striker.

10) Xavi, 31 Assists

Xavi was part of the brilliant Barcelona team that featured Messi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets and is perhaps one of the greatest passers of the ball ever. A true midfield conductor, he kept the ball moving and whilst appearing to do little, controlled games with his vision, precision and awareness. 31 assists from 151 games does little to reveal just how good he was.