Who has the most assists per 90 minutes in football?

A look at which football players have recorded the highest assists per 90 minutes, including all-time and current league leaders and what these stats show about playmakers.

Raw assist totals can be misleading. A player who starts every match and plays ninety minutes every week will almost always rack up more assists than someone who plays fewer minutes, even if they create chances at a similar or higher rate.

That’s where assists per 90 comes in. Instead of looking at totals, this stat measures how often a player sets up goals during a full match’s worth of action. It’s one of the most useful ways to compare creative output fairly, especially across different roles, teams, and seasons.

What assists per 90 means and why it matters

Assists per 90 adjusts raw assist numbers and accounts for playing time, giving you a clearer picture of how often a player actually creates goal-scoring chances when they’re on the pitch. Instead of only looking at totals, this rate stat shows how productive a player is relative to minutes played, making it easier to compare creators who have had different roles or minutes.

A player with fewer total football assists can still be a more efficient creator than someone with a higher overall number, if they produce chances at a faster rate. That’s why assists per 90 is commonly used in modern analysis alongside expected assists, or xA, which measures the quality of chances a player creates regardless of whether they result in goals.

How xA adds context to assists per 90

Assists tell you what happened. xA (expected assists) helps explain what should have happened.

xA measures the quality of chances a player creates, based on factors like pass type, location, defensive pressure, and the likelihood that the chance leads to a goal. If a player slips a clean through ball to centre and the shot is missed, the assist column stays empty, but xA still registers the work.

This makes xA especially useful when looking at assists per 90. A high assist rate with strong xA usually points to a player that’s consistently creating good chances that teammates are finishing. A high assist rate with low xA can suggest overperformance, and indicate that goals are coming from low-probability chances that can’t be sustained at the same pace.

Used together, assists per 90 and xA paint a more complete picture. One shows output and the other shows intent and chance quality. When both are high, you’re usually looking at a genuinely elite creator rather than a short-term hot streak.

The most assists per 90 in the 2025/26 season

Looking specifically at the 2025/26 Premier League season shows a slightly different picture from the raw assists table.

Based on players meeting the minimum minutes threshold, Rayan Cherki currently leads the league for assists per 90, averaging 0.61 assists per 90 minutes. He has recorded seven assists in just over 1,000 minutes of football, making him the most efficient creator in the league this season.

Bruno Fernandes sits just behind on 0.60 assists per 90, despite having a higher total of 12 assists. And the difference comes down to minutes played. Fernandes has been on the pitch far more often, while Cherki’s assists have arrived at a slightly faster rate when adjusted for time.

This is a good example of why assists per 90 are useful. Total assists reward availability and volume, while rate stats highlight efficiency. Both are valid, but they answer different questions.

Who has the highest assist rates in football history?

When looking at long-term assists totals across history, a few names consistently rise to the top.

Across the Premier League era, Kevin De Bruyne holds the crown for highest assists per 90.  With a career assist rate of just under 0.5 assists per 90 minutes across more than 15,000 league minutes, he combines elite efficiency with sustained output. That mix is rare. Many players peak briefly, but very few maintain this kind of form for years.

Close behind are players like Cesc Fàbregas, Dennis Bergkamp, David Silva, and Mesut Özil, all of whom produced assists at a high rate while playing in central roles.

Track assist trends with Match Bingo

Assists don’t appear out of nowhere. They’re built through pressure, movement, and moments that develop long before the final pass.

Match Bingo tracks those patterns live, letting you follow key passes, attacking phases, and creative influence as matches unfold. You can see how chances build and which players are driving the numbers behind the assists.

Premier League fixtures and more are live in the app. Download now and follow the stats behind football assists.