The 2025/26 Champions League has reached the quarter-final stage, and every player participating in the tournament this year will be looking to make a name for themselves.
One way to do that is to make an impact at the top of the pitch, both in terms of scoring goals and creating them. Who has the most assists in Champions League history? And could anyone break into the top ten this season?
Feel free to check out who has the most yellow cards in Champions League history as well…
Most assists in Champions League history – the top 10
10. Andres Iniesta – 29
Kicking off the list is one of the greatest midfielders to play the game, Andres Iniesta. The Spaniard won no fewer than four Champions League titles with Barcelona, and will go down as one of the all-time greats of the competition.
It should be noted that Karim Benzema also has 29 assists to his name. He is also a true Champions League great, with five to his name with Real Madrid, including three in a row between 2015 and 2018.
9. Xavi Hernandez – 30
Iniesta's former partner in crime for club and country comes sixth on the list with just one more assist in the Champions League for him – the great Xavi Hernandez. The ex-midfielder has four UCL titles to his name, and one day, he could lead another team to glory as a manager.
8. Thomas Muller – 30
Bayern Munich veteran Thomas Muller has won the competition twice with his current club in the 2012/13 and 2019/20 seasons. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals by finalists Inter Milan in the 2024/25 campaign, though, although Muller did earn his 30th assist in the competition, which moved him up the charts.
7. Vinicius Jr – 31
Vinicius Jr's seven assists in the 2025/26 campaign alone has bumped him up to 31 in total, and among the greatest players to play in the competition. The Brazilian will have further opportunities to climb the ranks too this season, after he helped Real Madrid knock Manchester City out 5-1 on aggregate in the last-16.
6. Ryan Giggs – 31
Entering the top 10 list is former Manchester United and Wales winger Ryan Giggs, who won the Champions League twice as a player. One was in the Red Devils' famous treble-winning season of 1998/99, and the other was in an all-English Champions League final against Chelsea in the 2007/08 campaign.
5. Kevin De Bruyne – 31
A star who could add to his tally further this season is Napoli midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who currently sits in the middle of the list on 31 assists. All but two of those assists came during his time at Manchester City, where he played an integral part in their 2022/23 Champions League-winning campaign. Now at Napoli, he has already added two assists this season and could catch Neymar by the end of the campaign.
4. Neymar – 33
Neymar is fourth on the list with 33 assists to his name in the Champions League. He only won one title during his time at Barcelona. Unfortunately, the Brazilian could not bring the coveted trophy to Paris Saint-Germain before moving to the Saudi Pro League to play for Al Hilal, and now he is playing for his former club Santos.
3. Lionel Messi – 40
It is not a surprise to see who props up in third place on this list, as Lionel Messi has recorded the third-most assists in Champions League history with 40. The little Argentine magician won four Champions League titles during his time at Barcelona, but unfortunately, he could not win one while playing for Paris Saint-Germain.
2. Angel Di Maria – 41
Argentine winger Angel Di Maria moved up to second in the charts in last season's Champions League competition with a couple more assists to his name playing for Benfica. He also played for many other European heavyweights, including Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, but only won one Champions League title, with the latter in the 2014/15 campaign.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 42
No prizes for guessing who has recorded the most assists in Champions League history – it is Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar has broken so many other records in the competition, and this is just one of them.
Indeed, Ronaldo has won the UCL five times and is the only player on this list to do so with two different clubs. He has won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United.
Who could break into the top 10 this season?
Realistically, there are only a small number of players who could break into the top 10 this season. Kylian Mbappe is one of them, currently on 25, while Joshua Kimmich is on 23.
Robert Lewandowski is on 22, and all three players play for clubs who will have ambitions of going all the way to the final in Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona respectively. Of course, the more games they play, the more chances they will have of recording assists, although both Real and Bayern face off against each other in the quarter-finals, and Barca face a tough two-legged affair against fellow LaLiga rivals Atletico Madrid.
