Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal left behind: Fans stunned as surprise tops soccer elite in total assists in 2025
The balance of power in modern soccer is often measured by goals, speed, and star power. Yet in 2025, one of the most revealing metrics tells a different story. Across all first divisions, domestic competitions, continental tournaments, and international soccer, creativity has become the true currency. While familiar icons like Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal continue to dominate headlines, the assist charts have delivered a quiet shock: a new name has risen above them both, redefining what elite playmaking looks like this year.
It is a reminder that soccer’s hierarchy is never static. Even in an era still shaped by Messi’s vision and Yamal’s explosiveness, 2025 has crowned a different kind of protagonist—one built on consistency, intelligence, and relentless chance creation rather than sheer celebrity.
According to Transfermarkt’s data, Michael Olise has recorded 30 assists in 66 matches across all competitions and national-team appearances in 2025, the highest total of any player in world soccer.
That single statistic carries enormous weight. It places Olise ahead of some of the most iconic creators the sport has ever seen and does so without the marketing noise or historical baggage that often accompanies such rankings. This is not a brief purple patch or a competition-specific spike. It is sustained output across an entire calendar year, achieved through regular selection, tactical trust, and repeated end-product.
In an age where goals dominate conversations, the Frenchman’s numbers are a reminder that the players who decide matches before the final touch are often just as valuable as those who apply it.
Messi still sets the standard—but no longer leads
Close behind the new leader sits Lionel Messi, who has produced 29 assists in just 54 matches. On a per-game basis, the Argentine remains extraordinary, continuing to bend matches to his will with timing, vision, and anticipation that few players in history have ever matched.
What makes Messi’s position remarkable is not that he finished second—it is that he is still competing at the very top of global creative metrics at this stage of his career. Even now, his influence remains central to his club’s attacking identity, dictating tempo and unlocking defenses with minimal touches.
Yet for the first time in years, the Argentine is not the benchmark everyone else is chasing. In 2025, he is the one being edged out, not because of decline, but because another player has matched consistency with availability across more games.
Generational shift takes shape
Perhaps the most symbolic name near the summit is Lamine Yamal, who has already amassed 27 assists in 60 matches. At just 18, his inclusion among the world’s elite creators is one of the clearest indicators that soccer is entering a new era.
Yamal’s numbers are not built on sporadic brilliance or highlight-reel dribbles alone. They reflect responsibility. He is trusted to make decisions in decisive zones, to supply final balls, and to influence matches consistently. Being placed statistically alongside Messi rather than far below him is not symbolism—it is evidence.