Angel Di Maria moved to second in the all-time list of Champions League assist providers on Wednesday.
By way of setting up Adrien Rabiot's brace and Dusan Vlahovic's goal against Maccabi Haifa this week, Di Maria usurped his compatriot Lionel Messi with a head-spinning 38 assists in UEFA's premier competition.
According to the tournament's official website, Di Maria's hat-trick of assists for Juventus means that he's now breathing down the neck of Cristiano Ronaldo who occupies first place having laid on 42 goals.
Di Maria makes Champions League history
It's an incredible achievement for one of the most underrated players of his generation because any statistic where you're separating Ronaldo and Messi is truly one to be celebrated.
However, Di Maria's feat got us hungry for more information on the most creative players in Champions League history and specifically the question: which player tops the assists charts in each season?
A Golden Boot for assist providing, if you will, which showcases who dominated Europe's leading competition for men's club football across several eras dating back to its foundation in 1992.
Soccer Football - Champions League - Group H - Juventus v Maccabi Haifa - Allianz Stadium, Turin, Italy - October 5, 2022 Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic celebrates scoring their second goal with Angel Di Maria REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
Assists in the Champions League
But in the absence of season-by-season breakdowns on the official Champions League stats hub, we had to pivot our search to the data gurus at Transfermarkt.
There, we could deep-dive into the numbers from each and every season since the competition's rebranding to see who finished up with the most assists along the way.
The caveat we must stress, however, is that Transfermarkt does hold a different definition of assists to the one upheld by the likes of Opta and seemingly the Champions League itself.
As confirmed by fellow data aficionados Squawka in 2020, the Transfermarkt definition is a little looser with the likes of rebounded shots, penalties won and own goal assists included in their totals.
Who has the most assists in every Champions League season?
So, if you see the odd discrepancy that runs contrary to the numbers that you've become used to, then now you know why because the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ryan Giggs most certainly have their totals enhanced by the different criteria.
Nevertheless, as long as you apply that pinch of salt accordingly and keep it in the back of your mind, then we can crack on with who Transfermarkt sees as each Champions League season's most prolific assist provider of all:
1992/93: Rudi Voller (Marseille) - 6
1993/94: Dejan Savićević (AC Milan) - 5
1994/95: Erik Wahlstedt (IFK Goteborg) - 4
Swedish soccer player Erik Wahlstedt pratices during his training session in Sergio Conceicao stadium on the outskirts of Coimbra April 27, 2004. Sweden squad will face Portugal on Wednesday in friendly match preparing the Euro 2004 Championship. REUTERS/Jose Manuel Ribeiro JR/THI
1995/96: Stefan Reuter (Borussia Dortmund), Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers), Angelo Di Livio (Juventus), Gianluca Vialli (Juventus) and Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) - 3
1996/97: Zinedine Zidane (Juventus) - 6
1997/98: Zinedine Zidane (Juventus) - 7
Zinedine Zidane Juventus Stock Season 97/98
Pic : Action Images / Stuart Franklin
1998/99: Dwight Yorke and David Beckham (Manchester United) - 8
1999/00: Luis Figo (Barcelona) - 8
2000/01: Luis Figo (Real Madrid) - 9
Portuguese player Luis Figo holds the Real Madrid shirt at his presentation in Bernabeu stadium July 24, 2000. Figo, who arrived in Madrid by private jet on Monday, become the world's most expensive player when Real paid the $56.1 million buy-out clause in his contract with Barcelona.
DB/WS
2001/02: Juan Sebastián Verón (Manchester United), Ze Roberto (Bayer Leverkusen), Hasan Salihamidžić (Bayern Munich), Yildiray Bastürk (Bayer Leverkusen), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen) and David Beckham (Manchester United) - 5
2002/03: Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) - 7
2003/04: Deco (FC Porto) - 10
AC Milan's Gennaro Gattuso (R) and Deco of FC Porto fight for the ball
during their UEFA Super Cup match at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco
August 29, 2003. REUTERS/ Giampiero Sposito
GS
2004/05: Kaka (AC Milan) and Damien Duff (Chelsea) - 6
2005/06: Johan Micoud (Werder Bremen) and Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - 5
2006/07: Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) - 8
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 13: Ryan Giggs of Manchester United leaves the pitch through injury during the UEFA Champions League Group F match between Manchester United and Celtic at Old Trafford on September 13, 2006 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
2007/08: Alex (Fenerbahce) - 6
2008/09: Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Xavi (Barcelona) and Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) - 7
2009/10: Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan) - 6
Football - Bayern Munich v Inter Milan - 2010 UEFA Champions League Final - Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - 09/10 - 22/5/10
Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder celebrates victory with the trophy
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Jason Cairnduff
2010/11: Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid) and Andres Iniesta (Barcelona) - 7
2011/12: Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich) - 8
2012/13: Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund) - 8
MALAGA, SPAIN - APRIL 03: Mario Gotze of Borussia Dortmund looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg match between Malaga CF and Borussia Dortmund at La Rosaleda Stadium on April 3, 2013 in Malaga, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
2013/14: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - 8
2014/15: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - 6
2015/16: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) - 6
2016/17: Neymar (Barcelona) - 9
Football Soccer - Barcelona v Paris St Germain - UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg - The Nou Camp, Barcelona, Spain - 8/3/17 Barcelona's Neymar celebrates after the game Reuters / Sergio Perez Livepic
2017/18: James Milner (Liverpool) and Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) - 8
2018/19: Luis Suarez (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) and Dusan Tadic (Ajax) - 5
2019/20: Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain) - 7
Soccer Football - Champions League - Paris St Germain Training - Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges, Belgium - October 21, 2019 Paris St Germain's Angel Di Maria during training REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
2020/21: Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) - 6
2021/22: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) - 7
2022/23: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City) - 4
Soccer Football - Champions League - Group G - Sevilla v Manchester City - Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, Spain - September 6, 2022 Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring their second goal with Joao Cancelo REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo
A long list of legends - but no Ronaldo
Very interesting indeed.
It's intriguing to note that although Ronaldo is still the Champions League's all-time leading assist provider by Transfermarkt's reckoning - with an amplified total of 48, no less - that he never actually comes out on top in a single season.
Rather, Zidane shines as the standout performer of the 1990s during his Juventus peak, before Figo shows his Ballon d'Or-winning form around the turn of the century and then icons such as Neymar, Suarez and Rooney get amongst it.
And while UEFA crowned Milner of all people as the man with the most assists in a single season under the current format back in 2018, it's actually Deco who takes the applause under these rules as the only player to reach double figures.
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However, no matter how you define your assists, using Di Maria's latest masterclass as an excuse to delve deep into the history of Champions League playmakers is certainly a fascinating journey.
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