De Bruyne is about to usurp Messi's throne as King of assists

Kevin De Bruyne needs just two more assists to become the player with the most assists in a decade in Europe's top five footballing nations.

On February 27, in Man City's 6-2 win over Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup, De Bruyne provided four assists. In the last 10 years in the top five European footballing nations (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France), Lionel Messi still leads with a total of 203 passes converted into goals by teammates.

However, De Bruyne is only one behind. With Man City having about 20 matches left in all competitions this season, the Belgian midfielder can completely usurp Messi's throne.

De Bruyne (No. 17) assisted four times and Erling Haaland scored five goals in Man City's 6-2 win over Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup on the evening of February 27 at Kenilworth Stadium. Photo: Man City — De Bruyne (No. 17) assisted four times and Erling Haaland scored five goals in Man City's 6-2 win over Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup on the evening of February 27 at Kenilworth Stadium. Photo: *Man City*

Messi no longer has the chance to improve his achievements. The 36-year-old striker moved to the US in July 2023 and no longer plays in the top five football countries in Europe.

Thomas Muller is third with 183 assists, while Angel Di Maria is fourth with 155. With Messi and Di Maria, Argentina is the only country with two players in the Top 5.

Neymar is fifth with 131 assists. Behind him are former Barca teammate Luis Suarez (131), Raheem Sterling (123), Kylian Mbappe (121), Mohamed Salah (119) and Dmitri Payet (115). Mbappe is the only player in the Top 10 under the age of 29 (25).

De Bruyne has only played 12 games for Man City this season due to injury. However, the 32-year-old midfielder has regained the club's assist king with 11 assists. The two players behind him, Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden, have both provided 10 assists this season, but have played 37 and 38 games respectively.

The 10 players with the most assists in the top five European football leagues in the past 10 years: Lionel Messi (Argentine, 458 matches, 203 assists); Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, 441, 202); Thomas Muller (Germany, 461, 183); Angel Di Maria (Argentina, 397, 155); Neymar (Brazil, 336, 141); Luis Suarez (Uruguay, 388, 131); Raheem Sterling (England, 483, 123); Kylian Mbappe (France, 352, 121); Mohamed Salah (Egypt, 461, 119); Dmitri Payet (France, 363 matches, 115).

Thanh Quy (according to Transfermarkt )

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