The art form of passing is what makes the game cohesive. The distinction between the great and the legendary is the ability to execute a pass with exquisite vision, timing, and pinpoint accuracy. A few of players have improved this ability to an unmatched degree throughout football’s history, permanently altering the game. Regretfully, we are unable to produce comprehensive information about many players from the 1990s, so they are not included. 21st-century players make up the majority of the players profiled.
We examine what qualities make a passer great, from the brilliant through passes of Lionel Messi to the inventive assists of Xavi Hernandez and the amazing through balls of Andrea Pirlo. These players create opportunities that frequently defy expectations because of their exceptional ability to understand the game, predict movements, and throw the ball precisely.
These are the ten greatest football passers of all time as of 2024.
10. Luka Modric
Master passer Luka Modric is well-known for his extraordinary skill, vision, and control. He can make precise, accurate short- and long-range passes with ease, and his passing range is unmatched.
Modric can pick out teammates with accuracy thanks to his ability to read the game and spot gaps. He can frequently break defences with a single thread of passes. He is a headache for opponents to mark because of his technical skill and on-field understanding.
With 283 assists over his career, Modric’s passing stats are astounding. He is one of the best passers in history because of his inventiveness, control, and passing range. Modric can set the pace of the game thanks to his vision and judgement, and he frequently uses his passes to dominate the play.
He has won multiple awards, including the Ballon d’Or in 2018, for his ability to make critical passes under duress. A new generation of midfielders is still motivated by Modric’s legacy, solidifying his place among the greatest of all time.
9. Fàbregas Cesc
As a key member of La Roja, Cesc Fàbregas solidified his place among the best midfielders and passers of his generation.
He excelled at Arsenal and Chelsea at the club level, setting incredible records there. He became the first player to record more than 15 assists in two consecutive seasons and the fastest player to earn 100 assists in the English Premier League.
8. Kroos, Toni
Kroos, who is regarded as one of the greatest passers with the best vision, did not arrive here by accident. He produced a genuine recitation against Scotland in the UEFA Euro 2024, which was praised by more than just the onlookers. Kroos is a real precision machine, as seen by the data and statistics following the game. He completed 8 of 8 long passes, 23 of 23 short passes, and 71 of 72 medium passes, and he only failed one pass out of 103, which is the number of passes required for the European Championship. His success percentage was 99 since he only had one failure.
It is challenging to surpass Kroos’ record as the player with the most touches and passes during the European Championship group stage.
Four Champions Leagues, five Club World Cups, four European Super Cups, four Spanish Leagues, one Copa del Rey, and four Spanish Super Cups are among the 22 titles that Toni Kroos has already won in his ten years at Real Madrid. As a Real Madrid player, he participated in 463 games, contributing 98 assists and 28 goals.
7. Iniesta
In contrast, Iniesta was very skilled at another facet of playmaking. Iniesta was a virtuoso at short-range passing but was not known for his long-range skills.
He was able to create beautiful through-balls and lobbed passes that could break down even the strongest defences thanks to his extraordinary dribbling abilities and vision.
Iniesta was a problem for opposition teams because of his distinct style, which flourished in confined places.
6. Zidane Zinedine
Zinedine Zidane was a brilliant football player whose remarkable passing talents frequently took a backseat to his amazing skill set. Zidane, a big-game player who regularly performed well under pressure and scored important goals in World Cup and Champions League finals, has what is perhaps the best first touch in football history. Zidane was a brilliant goal scorer, but he was also a master passer.
Zidane’s inventiveness and passing range were unmatched. He was essentially four-footed since he could use both the instep and the outside edge of both feet. Even in the presence of opponents, his adaptability enabled him to come up with inventive passing alternatives.
“When we don’t know what to do, we just give the ball to Zizou and he works something out,” his France teammate Bixente Lizarazu once remarked. This demonstrates Zidane’s vision and passing prowess and highlights his genuine brilliance on the pitch. Zidane is a great icon of the game because, in spite of the pressure around him, he constantly managed to pass the ball to his colleagues in an efficient manner.
5. De Bruyne, Kevin
Kevin De Bruyne’s amazing skill to pass. On the football, the Belgian midfielder has continuously dazzled with his accuracy, range, and vision. We will examine the nuances of De Bruyne’s passing approach in this piece, as well as how he has developed into one of the game’s best passers.
De Bruyne’s stats, which include an incredible 227 assists across all competitions, are self-evident. His career has been distinguished by his ability to find a teammate with a pass that is precisely weighted, and his reliability speaks much about his commitment and talent.
What distinguishes De Bruyne from his contemporaries, then? To learn the keys to his success, let’s examine his passing style, vision, and decision-making in more detail. At the moment, he is the Premier League’s finest passer.
4. Ryan Giggs
Because of his speed, talent, and wing delivery, Ryan Giggs, who has 244 assists, is still regarded as a legend at Manchester United. Giggs’ ability to blend pace and accuracy made his passing special. His left-wing crosses, which were expertly weighted and sent into hazardous areas for strikers to exploit, posed a continual threat.
Giggs’ ability to dribble allowed him to go past opponents and open up space for his passes, frequently from awkward angles. His ability to see allowed him to make snap decisions and identify colleagues with extreme precision. Giggs also showed a fantastic grasp of the game and the movements of his teammates by being able to execute through passes that broke down defences.
3. Ozil Mesut
On the football, Mesut Ozil is a creative genius known for his inventive and distinctive passing style. He is unmatched in his ability to spot teammates running and make precise, accurate passes.
Ozil had a lasting impression on the beautiful game during his time with Real Madrid and Arsenal, where he displayed his extraordinary skills. He contributed significantly to Real Madrid’s La Liga triumph in 2011–2012 by giving Cristiano Ronaldo and other teammates a number of assists.
There were many brilliant moments throughout his tenure at Arsenal, notably his crucial contribution to the team’s FA Cup victory in 2014, which ended the team’s trophy drought. Ozil received three German Player of the Year awards as well as other individual honours for his vision and inventiveness.
His playmaking skills were essential to the team’s victory in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which served as the high point of his international career with Germany. Ozil’s reputation as one of the most talented playwrights of his generation endures despite the criticism and difficulties he faced later in his career. He is a player who will be remembered for years to come because of his ability to break defences with his passing and his flare for the exceptional.
2. Xavi
With an unheard-of 100% passing accuracy in a single game, the Spanish maestro is a passing mastermind. Xavi established himself as one of the greatest passers in history with 92 passes against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2013 Champions League.
Xavi won multiple UEFA Champions League trophies and eight La Liga wins during his time at Barcelona. He was a key member of Barcelona’s midfield because of his vision and ability to manage the game’s pace.
Xavi rejoined Barcelona as manager in 2019 after retiring as a player, although he resigned following a season without any trophies. He has influenced a generation of midfielders with his style of play, therefore his impact on the game goes beyond his playing days.
Xavi is regarded as a recognised figure in football coaching circles due to his tactical brilliance and comprehension of the game. Domestic success during his time at Al Sadd in Qatar demonstrated his versatility and ability to flourish in a variety of footballing conditions. Xavi left behind a legacy of accuracy, wit, and a steadfast commitment to the beautiful game.
1. Lionel Messi
Many people consider Lionel Messi to be the best player of all time, but his stellar record goes much beyond his skill as a passer. His reputation as a legend has been solidified by his outstanding spring record, dribbling prowess, and winning mindset.
Messi’s vision, pace, and talent have left both opponents and supporters in amazement, as evidenced by his incredible 314 assists. In addition to his assists, Messi has amassed almost 700 goals in his career, ranking among the greatest attackers in football history.
He won ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and four UEFA Champions League titles during his tenure with FC Barcelona. Following his move to Paris Saint-Germain, Messi kept up his impressive on-field play. Few defenders can handle him as a dual threat because of his ability to create plays and score goals.
The Copa America victory in 2021 and the FIFA World Cup victory in 2022, which ended Argentina’s 36-year trophy drought, are only two examples of Messi’s equally outstanding achievements to the national team. He is adored all around the world because of his humility off the pitch, which contrasts with his dominance on it.
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