Lionel Messi had a great end to the year as the figurehead of Inter Miami, a team he promised to take to the top and did so with the conquest of the MLS Cup. After that, almost immediately, he was the sporting celebrity who caused an unusual phenomenon in India with his visit to the Asian country. But that’s not all, as he set a new record that Cristiano Ronaldo is far from matching.
The tournament played with Inter Miami places Messi as the top assist provider in soccer with 29 assists in 54 appearances. With this figure, he increased the record that belongs to him, reaching 407 assists throughout his career.
It should be remembered that in November 2025 he set a historic record when he reached 405 assists during the match against New York City FC. Two more came later to continue to widen the gap in that category.
In the list of the best assist providers, Messi is followed by Akram Afif of Qatar’s Al Sadd, who registered 27 assists in 47 matches between the Qatari national team and his club.
Likewise, the ‘Flea’ surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2025 goalscoring table by scoring 46 goals compared to the 41 that the Portuguese achieved in all competitions.
Alexis Vega in the Top 10
The dream year experienced by the Mexican with Toluca’s championship also brought him another surprise. He appears in the final list of the ten best assisters in the world. He is ranked tenth in that select group.
The world’s top assisters in 2025
These rankings are based on direct passes that end in a goal, in both club and national team competitions
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami). 29 assists in 54 games
- Akram Afif (Al Sadd). 28 assists in 47 games
- Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC). 26 assists in 74 games
- Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel). 25 assists in 51 games
- Rayan Cherki (Manchester City). 24 assists in 66 games
- Michael Olise (Bayern Munich). 24 assists in 53 games
- Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge). 24 assists in 67 games
- Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli). 23 assists in 60 games
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona). 23 assists in 54 games
- Alexis Vega (Toluca). 21 assists in 69 games
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