REVEALED: Only ONE footballer has more assists than Kevin De Bruyne in the top five leagues over the last decade… and the Belgian is poised to overtake him after creating four goals in Man City’s 6-2 triumph over Luton
- Kevin De Bruyne got four assists in Man City’s win against Luton
- The Belgian climbed to second place in the list for the most assists over the past ten years
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Only one footballer has provided more assists than Kevin De Bruyne in Europe’s top five leagues in the past decade – but that may not last long!
The Manchester City playmaker provided four assists in their recent 6-2 victory over Luton in the fifth round of the FA Cup, with Erling Haaland scoring five on the night.
In doing so, the Belgian increased his assist tally over the last ten years to 202 – from 441 matches – and cemented himself at second place on the last ten year list.
In fact, only Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has more than De Bruyne – the Argentine has 203 assists from 458 games.
Since Messi left French giants PSG in June 2023, player numbers have naturally hit rock bottom, as the stats only include assists in Europe’s top five.
Only one player has provided more assists than Kevin De Bruyne in the top five leagues in the past decade
The Man City playmaker got four assists in their recent 6-2 win over Luton Town
De Bruyne later took to social media to take note of his impressive performance that evening
Following the Belgian and Argentina is Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller – who has 183 assists from 461 games.
The likes of Angel Di Maria, Neymar and Luis Suarez all follow the German forward’s lead, with a surprise Premier League player in seventh place on the list.
Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling – who has also played for Liverpool and Man City – joins Suarez on the list, with an impressive 123 assists.
Following the England international is PSG striker Kylian Mbappe, who has 121 assists to his name despite only making his first-team debut in 2015.
The list is completed by Liverpool star Mohamed Salah and former West Ham playmaker Dimitri Payet, who have 119 and 115 respectively.
Man City star De Bruyne has already provided 12 assists in the 2023/2024 season despite missing the first six months of the season due to injury.
After their win against Luton, the Belgian said even he had surprised himself by returning so seamlessly from his hamstring operation.
| Player | Games | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 458 | 203 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 441 | 202 |
| Thomas Müller | 461 | 183 |
| Angel Di Maria | 397 | 155 |
| Neymar | 336 | 141 |
| Luis Suarez | 388 | 131 |
| Raheem Sterling | 483 | 123 |
| Kylian Mbappe | 352 | 121 |
| Muhammad Salah | 461 | 119 |
| Dimitri Payet | 363 | 115 |
Premier League stars Raheem Sterling (L) and Mohamed Salah (R) are also on the list
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi – formerly of Barcelona and PSG – is the only player to have provided more assists than Manchester City’s De Bruyne in Europe’s top five leagues in the past decade
De Bruyne told the media afterwards: ‘I wasn’t worried (about his hamstring injury) but I didn’t expect to come back like this, if I’m honest.
“It was one of those games where you get a lot of one-v-ones and there’s a lot of space. If you can find the right angles you will get many opportunities. We found a way to hurt them and Erling scored the goals, so it was good.
“When you play fast it is very difficult because they are in control, but once you understand how to hold the ball a little longer it becomes difficult for them and there is a lot of space. That’s the way they play. It’s hard, but we found a way.’
