Feb 12, 2022 - 13:29
By givemesport.com

Ronaldinho & Kaka: The 20 most prolific attacking midfielders of the 21st century

If you love football, you love Ronaldinho.

The Brazilian magician is one the sport’s most legendary figures and he’s the main reason why many young people fell in love with the game.

Ronaldinho was an artist out on the pitch, regularly performing jaw-dropping skill moves and running the show with a great big smile on his face.

And as well as being one of the sport’s great entertainers, Ronaldinho was seriously productive as a player.

At Barcelona, the two-time FIFA World Player of the Year scored and assisted goals for fun. In the 2005/06 season alone, the fleet-footed maestro contributed to 50 goals (26G, 24A) in 45 appearances.

Those are some serious numbers and after digesting them, it’ll come as no shock to learn that Ronaldinho has been crowned the most prolific attacking midfielder in the 21st century.

The folks over at PopFoot have provided all the necessary figures, with Ronaldinho sitting atop a 20-man list.

He’s also 102 goal contributions ahead of the man in second place…

20. Keisuke Honda – 251 goal contributions (144 goals, 107 assists)

19. Rafael van der Vaart – 265 goal contributions (196 goals, 69 assists)

18. Mathieu Valbuena – 270 goal contributions (104 goals, 166 assists)

17. Michael Ballack – 277 goal contributions (185 goals, 92 assists)

16. Pavel Nedved – 278 goal contributions (165 goals, 113 assists)

15. Dimitri Payet – 289 goal contributions (139 goals, 150 assists)

14. Andrei Arshavin – 294 goal contributions (151 goals, 143 assists)

13. Juan Mata – 295 goal contributions (150 goals, 145 assists)

12. James Rodriguez – 295 goal contributions (145 goals, 150 assists)

11. Marek Hamsik – 296 goal contributions (167 goals, 129 assists)