10 Players With Best Goals+Assists-Per-Game Ratio in World Football Since 2000

The 10 players with the best goals-and-assists-per-game ratio since 2000—just saying the title is a feat, so just imagine how much of a handful the players that make it onto the list are for opposition defenders. Featuring here means being more than a world-class playmaker or elite scorer; it’s about excelling at both, consistently and effortlessly. These players embody the rare combination of creativity and finishing ability, producing contributions at a free-flowing, relentless pace.

In football, where the stakes are always high, many players can produce a stunning goal or assist. However, what separates the great from the good are those who consistently deliver, giving their team the best chance at success. As the saying goes, “consistency is key.” With insights from Pop Foot, we’ve explored the most dependable attacking players over the past 25 years—those who have relentlessly contributed to their team’s glory through both goals and assists and haven’t needed a lot of time to get to the numbers they have.

10 Mohamed Salah

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.74

Over the last seven Premier League seasons, rival fans have become bored with seeing Mohamed Salah score or assist in what feels like every game whilst in the red of Liverpool. What must be even more annoying, though, is the fact the Egyptian international will often fade out of games but still manage to grab a goal and an assist or two as he always stays switched on.

This, however, turned out to be a trait that Arsene Wenger taught him, and it’s hardly a surprise that the 32-year-old has a goals-and-assists-per-game ratio as high as 0.74. In 721 total career appearances, he’s scored 357 goals and provided 173 assists, which ensures his status among the best the world has ever seen is put beyond doubt.

9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.74

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a rare breed of footballer who, after moving to the retirement home of the MLS, decided his prime was far from over and returned to Europe to continue to find the back of the net at such a fast rate that he made the sport look like a video game.

He is also unique in that, it didn’t matter how much he talked the talk, fans knew the Swedish icon could then go and back it up by walking the walk. 726 goal contributions in 980 appearances is crazy itself, but nothing will ever be quite as mental as the 43-year-old himself, who only called time on his playing days last year.

8 Harry Kane

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.79

With 213 goals, Harry Kane is the second-highest goalscorer in Premier League history, 47 goals behind the legendary Alan Shearer. But with no sign of silverware ever arriving during his time at Tottenham, the Londoner, who also holds the record as England’s all-time top goalscorer, then moved to Bayern Munich in 2023 and became the quickest player to reach 30 Bundesliga goals.

The curse of a trophy drought continues to follow, as he is still yet to win a trophy in Bavaria. But that’s not through any fault of his own. Everywhere he goes, he scores a shed load, as evidenced by his record of 526 goal contributions in 664 appearances for club and country.

7 Luis Suarez

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.84

Whether you love him, hate him, or remain undecided, there’s no doubt about it that Luis Suarez is one of the true greats of his generation. 31 goals in 33 Premier League games may not have been enough to win Liverpool a Premier League in 2014, so he went and dominated La Liga with Barcelona, and he continues to plunder the ball beyond the goalkeeper for Inter Miami nowadays.

Indeed, most football purists know the Uruguayan because of his goal tally. After all, he has 585 goals across his career. But the little known fact among many is the remarkable statistic that he boasts of being the third-highest assistmaker of all time, with his 228 assists bettered by only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

6 Robert Lewandowski

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.86

Robert Lewandowski’s scoring rates have transcended ridiculous, and he now embodies the ‘scoring for fun’ phrase. He became the only man to manage Champions League hat-tricks at three different clubs when he rocketed three past Viktoria Plzen on his European debut for Barcelona last season. But, the reality is, he’s been doing this kind of stuff for years.

Across his career, the Pole has topped the scoring charts in 20 competitions, including the 2019/20 Champions League, when he fired Bayern Munich to the title. As a result, he has 816 goal involvements in 948 appearances, which comes in at a ratio of 0.86.

5 Neymar

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.90

People forget just how good Neymar was during his pomp. Certainly, a lot of people know him as one of the most skilful players of all time, but not enough attention is put on his goal and assists tally. 440 goals and 207 assists in an injury-plagued career that has seen him play 721 games so far is a remarkable return.

From being pivotal in Barcelona’s 2014/15 Champions League success to starring in PSG’s pursuit of similar glory, the Brazilian may not have fulfilled the lofty expectations of winning a Ballon d’Or or restoring Brazil to international dominance. However, with a remarkable 0.90 goals-and-assists-per-game ratio, the Al-Hilal forward’s contributions remain deserving of greater acclaim.

4 Cristiano Ronaldo

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.93

Cristiano Ronaldo holds an unparalleled scoring legacy: he is Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer, Portugal’s record goal-getter, the Champions League’s highest scorer, the European Championship’s leading marksman, and the top scorer in international football history. This makes him the all-time top goalscorer in professional football, cementing his place as one of the sport’s greatest players.

But surprisingly, his goals-and-assists-per-game ratio only ranks him fourth. This means that, while he has broken so many records, his longevity rather than his peak could be the reason for those. Should a player ranking higher on this list make it to 40, then they, too, could achieve what Ronaldo has.

Related

15 Players With Most Goals+Assists in International Football Since 2000

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are separated by just a few goal contributions as Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe also feature.

3 Erling Haaland

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 0.99

Erling Haaland has over 100 fewer appearances than the next youngest player to feature on this list, and 200 fewer than third. This no doubt plays a role in his goals-and-assists-per-game ratio of 0.99, but nobody can take away just how incredible his goal-getting habits have been since bursting onto the scene in 2019 with RB Leipzig.

Earlier this season, he equalled Ronaldo’s record of being the fastest player to reach 100 goals with one club, doing it in 105 games for Manchester City. But what makes his record even more impressive is that he hardly relies on assists. While others are more well-rounded forwards, the monstrous Norwegian star has 278 goals, which belittles his tally of 53 assists.

2 Kylian Mbappe

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 1.02

A recent omission from the French national team, a clear disliking of his new surroundings at Real Madrid, and an ego bigger than his current on-pitch contributions – onlookers to Kylian Mbappe’s demise since he finally made the move to Spain over the summer will have a funny feeling his current goals-and-assists-per-game ratio will quickly drop.

But the Frenchman, who netted an impressive 256 goals in 305 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain, also boasts 48 goals and 35 assists on the international stage. Having lifted the World Cup and delivered a stunning hat-trick in the subsequent final, he will remain confident in further enhancing his remarkable goal-and-assist ratio in the coming years in his attempts at dethroning Lionel Messi.

1 Lionel Messi

Goals-and-assists-per-game ratio: 1.13

No matter how tough Mbappe finds getting to grips with his new surroundings at Madrid, though, his most difficult challenge could well be eclipsing Lionel Messi’s seemingly supernatural ratio of 1.13 goal contributions-per-game. In 1,228 games for club and country, the eight-time Ballon d’Or victor has scored 850 goals and provided 378 assists for his teammates.

Overall, the little boy from Rosaria has 1,228 direct goal involvements throughout his career. And ultimately, this means there has never been a tournament that the 37-year-old hasn’t been instrumental in. Through a World Cup victory, two Copa America wins, four Champions League winning campaigns, and 10 La Liga triumphs, the magician has always been consistently outstanding.