De Bruyne, Messi, Muller: Which footballer has the most assists since 2017?

Lionel Messi, Kevin De Bruyne and Thomas Muller are three of the most renowned assisters in football history.

The trio have contributed a combined total of 795 assists to their teammates over the years, with Paris Saint-Germain star Messi contributing the most of them all (325).

But with Messi and Muller ageing into their mid-to-late thirties, have we now officially seen the mantle passed to De Bruyne as the world’s finest creator?

The Man City star is simply sublime and has long proven the most essential cog in Pep Guardiola's well-oiled machine.

Whether it be Sergio Aguero up-front or Erling Haaland, it really needn't matter, because with De Bruyne pulling the strings any striker worth his salt is guaranteed to score goals by the bucket load.

Over the past five years, the Belgian has racked up a mega tally of 121 assists in his 271 games.

That gives him an average ratio of 0.45 assists-per-game played and statistically makes him the most creative footballer in the world across that time frame.

Not impressed? You should be. Let's compare De Bruyne's stats to those of the nine other most prolific assisters operating in Europe's top five leagues.

20. Andrew Robertson: 60 assists in 277 games | 0.2319. Raheem Sterling: 61 assists in 300 games | 0.2018. Trent Alexander-Arnold: 63 assists in 244 games | 0.2617. Memphis Depay: 64 assists in 252 games | 0.2516. Antoine Griezmann: 65 assists in 315 games | 0.2115. Jadon Sancho: 65 assists in 210 games | 0.31 14. Riyad Mahrez: 68 assists in 288 games | 0.24 13. Hakan Calhanoglu: 68 assists in 272 games: 0.2512. Jordi Alba: 68 assists in 270 games | 0.25 11. Heung-min Son: 69 assists in 296 games | 0.23

10. Mohamed Salah: 70 assists in 300 games | 0.239. Leroy Sane: 70