Top 10 Players with The Best Assist-Per-Game Ratio for Country in The 21st Century, Messi Ninth

• Kevin de Bruyne leads the list of players with the most assists-per-game ratio for their national teams in the 21st century
• The Belgian has impressively provided 48 assists in 102 appearances for the Red Devils since making his debut in 2010
• The top 10 in this category features some big names in football, but Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, is only at ninth

In the world of football, playmakers are at times underrated in their contributions to the goals scored by their respective teams.

Players who provide crucial assists for strikers sometimes go unnoticed in the stats, but there are some standout individuals who thrive in that department.

Kevin de Bruyne is a classic example, as the Belgian is popularly known for his exquisite vision on the football pitch.

Lionel Messi goals: 15 of the best goals by The Messiah of football

Football

The 32-year-old has an extraordinary ability to pick a crucial pass to find a teammate when no one on the pitch thought anything was on.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that De Bruyne tops the list of players with the highest assists-per-match ratio on the national team in the 21st century.

According to Transfermarkt, the former VFL Wolfsburg midfielder has 254 career assists, which is quite impressive considering his age.

Narrow this down to assists for his national team, and De Bruyne has an assists-per-match ratio of 0.47 - more than any other player in the 21st century.

This is slightly better than the second-placed player on this list, Neymar, who has 58 assists in 130 appearances for the Brazil national team, which gives him an assist ratio of 0.45.

Players with best assist-per-game ratio in 21st century

15 times Lionel Messi surprised the football world, is he the GOAT?

Football

According to Pop Foot, Germany’s Mesut Ozil (0.41), France forward Kylian Mbappe (0.36) and Serbia forward Dusan Tadic (0.34) round up the top five.

For all his brilliance on the ball and everything he has done for Argentina, Lionel Messi’s assist ratio for La Albiceleste is quite low at only (0.30). This leaves him ninth on the least, with only Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes having a worse ratio than the Argentine inside the top 10 with 0.29.

Who are the ranked top 10 all-time top scorers of La Liga?

Football

Interestingly, only Neymar in the top 10 has more assists than Messi’s 54 for their national teams, but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner’s impressive 182 appearances for his country meant his assist ratio was always going to be lower.

Liverpool ace, Mohamed Salah, is one of only two Africans on the list, with an assist ratio of 0.32 for Egypt.

Players who ‘completed football’

Sports Brief also previously highlighted the six players who ‘completed football’ including Ronaldinho, Messi, and German legend Franz Beckenbauer.

Completing football is used to refer to those players who have won it all in the sport, from a FIFA World Cup and Ballon d'Or to a continental trophy.