Thomas Muller has set a new record for the most assists by a player operating in one of Europe's top five leagues over the course of a calendar year.
As we reported HERE, the Bayern Munich legend's total of 32 is now comfortably the most since the turn of the millenium and it's yet another incredible achievement by one of the greats of the modern era.
The closest Premier League player to Muller in terms of assists in 2021 is Bruno Fernandes, the Manchester United playmaker with 18 to his name across all competitions at the time of writing.
It's a bit of an unfair comparison to make truth be told, so instead, we've decided to take a look at the leading assister from the English top-flight in each completed year of the 21st century, with all stats sourced from Transfermarkt.
Let's get started...
(Only players who spent the full calendar year in question at a Premier League club have been considered for selection.)
2000
David Beckham (Manchester United) | 20 assists in 48 games
2001
Robert Pires (Arsenal) | 16 assists in 55 games
2002
Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) | 18 assists in 42 games
2003
Thierry Henry (Arsenal) | 28 assists in 51 games
2004
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) | 22 assists in 47 games
2005
Frank Lampard (Chelsea) | 18 assists in 56 games
2006
Frank Lampard (Chelsea) | 17 assists in 53 games
2007
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) | 20 assists in 50 games
2008
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) | 17 assists in 44 games
2009
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) | 24 assists in 34 games
2010
Nani (Manchester United) | 22 assists in 41 games
2011
David Silva (Manchester City) | 20 assists in 52 games
2012
Juan Mata (Chelsea) | 26 assists in 58 games
2013
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) | 23 assists in 41 games
2014
Edin Dzeko (Manchester City) | 15 assists in 46 games
2015
Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) | 23 assists in 48 games
2016
Dimitri Payet (West Ham United) | 19 assists in 44 games
2017
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) | 24 assists in 49 games
2018
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) | 20 assists in 45 games
2019
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) | 23 assists in 47 games
2020
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) | 21 assists in 41 games
De Bruyne, Lampard and Fabregas are the three players to feature twice on the list, while Henry's haul of 28 assists in 2003 at Arsenal is the most by a Premier League footballer in a 21st century calendar year.
No wonder many believe 'Titi' is the greatest striker English football has ever seen!
