Passing has been a key aspect of the game since Scottish internationals bamboozled England in the late 19th century. Elite passers have operated in positions across the pitch and divisions from around the world. Cult heroes, Ballon d'Or winners and World Cup champions have all mastered the art of passing.
The obsession with passing is not a modern phenomenon. This fascination with how players caressed a ball and those who excelled in this particular discipline has existed since the first international football match in 1872, more than a century before possession statistics became available. England were held to a surprise goalless draw by their hosts at the West of Scotland Cricket ground in Partick.
While the visiting side were taller, faster and stronger, Scotland emerged with a clean sheet thanks to their 'pattern-weaving' style. This would be the first domino in a sequence of tactical schemes that has given birth to tiki-taka and the way most elite teams play to this day. Over the subsequent 150 years, the game has been littered with passing maestros.
These spiritual descendants of those Scottish weavers have come in all forms from every corner of the globe, underscoring the universal value attached to the most basic element of any football match; the pass. Assists - The final pass before a goal is the most important in football. Influence - The best passers can control their entire team based on how they shuttle the ball around the pitch.
Accuracy - Pass completion rate taken in isolation can be grossly misleading. This metric is only considered when presented in an adequate context. Longevity - Those who have remained an expert in any discipline for an extended period are always more impressive.
Level - To be able to stand out among the best players in the world is the mark of a legendary individual. Greatest Passers in Football History Rank Player Nation Career 1. Lionel Messi Argentina 2003–Present 2.
Pele Brazil 1956–1977 3. Xavi Hernandez Spain 1997–2019 4. Kevin De Bruyne Belgium 2008–Present 5.
Paul Scholes England 1993–2013 6. Michael Laudrup Denmark 1981–1998 7. Mesut Ozil Germany 2005–2023 8.
Zinedine Zidane France 1989–2006 9. Sergio Busquets Spain 2007–Present 10. Toni Kroos Germany 2007–2024 11.
Andrea Pirlo Italy 1995–2017 Lionel Messi only in third. Here are the greatest dribblers ever to grace a football pitch. 11 Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo's complete control of a football was put to the test at the end of the 2011/12 season.
As Antonio Conte urged his team on in search of a perfect unbeaten league season , he couldn't afford to rest his deep-lying playmaker even after Pirlo sprained his right knee. The cerebral Italian managed to get on the pitch but had to limit himself to only using his weaker left foot for four matches. Across that golden quartet, Juve collected 10 points, Pirlo completed 87% of his passes and created 23 chances for his teammates, four of which were finished off.
Maybe the opposition would have had more luck if Pirlo had been prohibited from using either foot. Career Details Notable clubs AC Milan, Juventus Nation Italy Games 872 Assists 159 10 Toni Kroos Juan Roman Riquelme, a languid Argentine number 10 who could knock the ball around pretty well himself, was in awe of Toni Kroos. Dubbing him 'the Roger Federer of football', Riquelme loved the way that the German midfielder let the ball do all the work.
He can go out, play, and go home again not even needing to bathe: he doesn't sweat, doesn't get dirty, doesn't need to throw himself down. At the end of a legendary career which included an unrivalled six Champions League final appearances , Kroos' assurance in possession was a running joke. After celebrating the 2023/24 La Liga title, Carlo Ancelotti feigned disgust when telling a reporter that his player had missed one pass in the previous match.
"Tomorrow, we train," the Italian grinned. Career Details Notable clubs Bayern Munich, Real Madrid Nation Germany Games 868 Assists 187 Toni Kroos and Thiago become the latest world-class footballers to announce a premature end to their incredible careers. 9 Sergio Busquets During the glory days of Barcelona's tiki-taka domination, the players communicated with their passes; the direction, spin and speed of each ball was laced with information.
No one was more fluent in the rhythmic language than Sergio Busquets. The gangly, one-paced, holding midfielder is nobody's vision of an athlete. But few could manipulate the ball like Busquets.
As the former Spain manager Vicente del Bosque once supposedly said: "You watch the whole game, you don't see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game." The mesmeric minimalist who won every major trophy for club and country was plucked out of the Spanish third tier by Pep Guardiola, the player that Busquets most admired while growing up.
Career Details Notable clubs Barcelona Nation Spain Games 916 Assists 61 8 Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Zidane was such a wonderfully gifted player that his range of passing is masked by a staggering array of alternative attributes. Blessed with perhaps the best first touch of any footballer ever, the ultimate big-game player was defined by his goals in the finals of World Cups and Champions Leagues. Peering beyond the glare of his brilliance, Zidane's mastery of passing becomes clear.
Capable of using the instep and outer edge of both boots, the French maestro was effectively four-footed. Perennially surrounded by a fleet of snapping tackles, Zidane had to conjure increasingly creative ways to get the ball to his teammates, who were all too keen to get it back to the number 10. "When we don't know what to do," Zidane's France teammate, Bixente Lizarazu, once said, "we just give the ball to Zizou and he works something out.
" Career Details Notable clubs Juventus, Real Madrid Nation France Games 798 Assists 172 7 Mesut Ozil Mesut Ozil's unwaveringly languid approach was so effortless it had people wrongly questioning how much effort he actually exerted. A dedicated professional who clocked up more miles than many would have expected, ushered in the new wave of modern playmakers. These physically unimposing figures could line up anywhere along the frontline and prioritised creation over all else.
No stage was too big for the former Real Madrid and Arsenal maestro. Ozil finished as the most prolific assist provider at the end of a campaign in the World Cup, European Championship , Champions League, Europa League, Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premier League. While the sour conclusion to his Arsenal career clouded his time in north London, Ozil's excellence in Madrid was made clear by the grief that gripped the dressing room after his departure in 2013.
Xabi Alonso hailed him as "the perfect player" while Cristiano Ronaldo fretted : "The sale of Ozil is very bad news for me." Career Details Notable clubs Werder Bremen, Real Madrid, Arsenal Nation Germany Games 737 Assists 258 Despite the plethora of stars he's shared a pitch alongside, Sami Khedira is firm in his belief for who was his best team-mate. 6 Michael Laudrup A "magician", a "dream" or simply "the best player in history".
Michael Laudrup attracted many flattering labels throughout a trophy-laden career. Even the King of Spain once called him, well, the "King of Spain". The adulation which Laudrup inspired stemmed from his unerring appreciation of space on the pitch.
The Dane could spot even the slightest gap in the tight stitching of an opponent's backline, playing passes that few saw and fewer could pull off. If anything, Laudrup was too eager to pick out a pass. As Michel Platini once lamented: "Michael had everything except for one thing: he wasn't selfish enough.
" Career Details Notable clubs Juventus, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Ajax Nation Denmark Games 671 Assists 73 5 Paul Scholes Few players in the world of football are as widely revered by their peers as Paul Scholes. The 11-time Premier League champion has inspired weighty tomes full of praise from the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Xavi Hernandez and Cristiano Ronaldo. Even the Brazilian icon Ronaldinho once gushed: "I want to pass like him.
Who taught him how to do that?" Scholes' innate ball-striking ability was always there, but his focus for the first decade of his career was on shooting rather than passing. After all, the chant that rolled down the stands of Old Trafford used to go: "Paul Scholes scores goals." As Sir Alex Ferguson increasingly loaded his squad with forward-thinking foreign talent, one of the club's greatest-ever academy products evolved his game to stay in the first team, stepping towards the centre circle and into the hearts of footballers everywhere.
Career Details Notable clubs Manchester United Nation England Games 779 Assists 95 Manchester United's 13 Premier League titles have been underpinned by some of the competition's greatest midfielders. Here are the 10 best. 4 Kevin De Bruyne It's fitting that Kevin De Bruyne grew up idolising Michael Owen, arguably the first player who so obviously took advantage of superior physical gifts in the Premier League era.
De Bruyne may not be quite as jet-heeled as the former England international, but he is a force of nature when he gets going. While Owen was running at defenders who spent most weeknights sinking pints, De Bruyne is bullying players who work with the best sports scientists in the game. There is an angular edge to De Bruyne's style that almost disguises the beauty of his brilliance.
The beating heart of Manchester City's modern domination can play any pass, but few can replicate his signature delivery; arriving wide on the right, there is no one better on the planet at whipping a low ball between the crowd of defenders onto the instep of his teammate. Career Details Notable clubs Chelsea, Manchester City Nation Belgium Games 716 Assists 303 GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Kevin De Bruyne is one of only five players with more than 100 Premier League assists and amassed that century in fewer games than anyone else (237). 3 Xavi Hernandez Passing is not just a useful skill for Xavi Hernandez.
It is the fundamental aspect of football. "Some teams can't or don't pass the ball," the metronome in midfield for Spain and Barcelona lamented during his playing days. "What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football.
Combine, pass, play. That's football - for me, at least." Often miscast as a crab footballer, only shuffling the ball sideways, Xavi finished his career with more than 200 assists for club and country.
Having a player as prolific as Lionel Messi on the end of those passes certainly helps, but the Catalan midfielder did so much more than create goals. Xavi controlled the entire flow of a contest, picking his way through opponents while also combining with teammates to keep everyone interested. "Sometimes," Xavi told The Guardian , "I even think to myself: man, so-and-so is going to get annoyed because I've played three passes and haven't given him the ball yet.
" Career Details Notable clubs Barcelona Nation Spain Games 1,062 Assists 241 Spain have produced a countless number of superb footballers, here are ten of the best midfielders. 2 Pele Pele is rightly hailed as one of the greatest goalscorers in history . By his own somewhat controversial count, the three-time World Cup winner rattled in more than 1,000 goals for Santos and Brazil before embarking upon early retirement in New York.
Yet Pele insists that finishing was not his greatest strength. Although many remember me for my goals, more often I helped others to score. I have many more assists.
Operating just behind his team's centre-forward, Pele was a master of waiting for the space to open in front of him, a technique revered in Argentina which is known as 'la Pausa' - the pause. The most famous example of this calculated nonchalance came during the 1970 World Cup final, when Pele span, stopped and stroked the ball into the path of an onrushing Carlos Alberto. That was the Brazilian's sixth assist of the competition - no player has ever recorded more in a single summer since.
Career Details Notable clubs Santos Nation Brazil Games 1,366 Assists N/A 1 Lionel Messi When Lionel Messi broke Gerd Muller's ridiculous calendar-year scoring record with 91 goals in 2012, he also racked up 26 assists. Javier Mascherano, the Argentine's long-serving teammate at international and club level, summed up the unique dual threat which his former colleague offers. He's capable of starting the move and finishing it off as well.
Normally, players can do one or the other. But he's different. Across Messi's final 15 seasons in European club football, he finished the campaign with a double-digit assist tally 12 times.
No one else can match such a feat of creative consistency and only three other players in the 21st century amassed more than six seasons of 10 or more league assists. "If you can't link up well with Messi," Xavi once shrugged, "then football's not for you." Career Details Notable clubs Barcelona, PSG Nation Argentina Games 1,091 Assists 413 Stats via Transfermarkt .
Correct as of 7th August 2024..
