Yesterday, his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace. Naturally, Lionel Messi wasn’t going to miss the chance to underline his own case in the GOAT debate.
In a 6–0 rout of Costa Rica, the superstar supplied two assists, making himself the best provider of all time in competitive international matches. High time to look at the leaderboard — and second place in particular might surprise some.
10th: Carlos Valderrama (40)
We’re starting off legendary. The Colombian with the unmistakable mane was a top-class creator in the 1980s and 1990s — and, like Messi, played in MLS toward the end of his career.
📸 Doug Pensinger
9th: Pelé (40)
The Brazilian icon primarily knew exactly where the goal was himself. But if the path was blocked even for him, he also knew where a teammate was ready to finish.
8th: James Rodriguez (41)
The former Bayern star is the first on this list who could still improve his position — and he’s working on it. On Sunday, he helped Colombia beat Mexico 4–0, setting up two goals.
7th: Akram Afif (44)
Relatively unknown in Europe, but a major star in his native Qatar. The 28-year-old has been racking up goal contributions in 122 international caps so far. Yesterday he celebrated a 2–1 win over the United Arab Emirates. Provider for both goals? Of course, Akram Afif.
📸 Robert Cianflone – 2024 Getty Images
6th: Kevin De Bruyne (49)
If his surname eventually becomes the Flemish word for “assist,” there probably wouldn’t be many complaints.
5th: Sándor Kocsis (51)
We’re traveling back to the golden age of Hungarian football. In the early 1950s, the Magyars were the benchmark — not least because they had one of the finest forwards of his era in Kocsis.
4th: Ferenc Puskás (53)
Kocsis was surpassed — in this ranking as well — only by Ferenc Puskás. The “Major” led the team, including in assists.
📸 Alex Livesey – 2009 Getty Images
3rd: Landon Donovan (58)
Landon Donovan secures a podium spot. The American is not only his country’s record assist provider but also its joint top scorer (57 goals), sharing that honor with Clint Dempsey.
2nd: Neymar (58)
Knocked off the top spot is Neymar — a somewhat surprising candidate, given he’s usually the one finishing chances. He hasn’t been able to showcase his qualities for Brazil recently, though. The 33-year-old’s last international match was on October 18, 2023.
⚠️🇦🇷 Messi SUPEROU Neymar Jr. Assistências por seleções :
59 🇦🇷 Messi 🔥
58 🇧🇷 Neymar
58 🇺🇲 Donovan
53 🇭🇺 Puskás
51 🇭🇺 Kocsis
49 🇧🇪 De Bruyne
44 🇶🇦 Akram Afif
41 🇨🇴 James Rodriguez
40 🇧🇷 Pelé
40 🇨🇴 Valderrama💻@k1_statsspic.twitter.com/76cHM5WJz8
— Noite de Copa (@Noitedecopa) October 15, 2025
1st: Lionel Messi (59)
As noted, the Argentine superstar has been the best in this category since last night as well. And the next fabled number is already in sight: La Pulga needs just two more assists to reach 400 across his entire competitive career!
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
📸 Carmen Mandato – 2025 Getty Images
