Most Premier League assists
Top 20
Ryan Giggs has 162 Premier League assists. Kevin De Bruyne, the most celebrated creator the competition has had, is second on 118 — and got there in roughly half as many seasons. Between those two numbers sits the whole argument about whether this is a record of quality or a record of endurance.
This is the top twenty since 1992/93, the season the competition began. It is a much less familiar list than the goalscoring one, and considerably more revealing about how the league has actually been played.
| # | Player | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan GiggsManchester United1992/93–2013/14 | 162 |
| 2 | Kevin De BruyneManchester City, Chelsea2013/14–2024/25 | 118 |
| 3 | Cesc FàbregasArsenal, Chelsea2004/05–2018/19 | 111 |
| 4 | Frank LampardChelsea, West Ham United, Manchester City1995/96–2014/15 | 102 |
| 5 | Wayne RooneyManchester United, Everton2002/03–2017/18 | 102 |
| 6 | Dennis BergkampArsenal1995/96–2005/06 | 94 |
| 7 | Mohamed SalahLiverpool, Chelsea2013/14–2025/26 | 94 |
| 8 | David SilvaManchester City2010/11–2019/20 | 93 |
| 9 | Steven GerrardLiverpool1998/99–2014/15 | 92 |
| 10 | James MilnerAston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City + 2 more2002/03–2025/26 | 90 |
| 11 | David BeckhamManchester United1994/95–2002/03 | 80 |
| 12 | Christian EriksenTottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Brentford2013/14–2024/25 | 78 |
| 13 | Teddy SheringhamTottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Portsmouth + 1 more1992/93–2006/07 | 76 |
| 14 | Andy ColeManchester United, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers + 3 more1993/94–2007/08 | 74 |
| 15 | Ashley YoungAston Villa, Manchester United, Watford + 1 more2006/07–2024/25 | 74 |
| 16 | Thierry HenryArsenal1999/00–2011/12 | 74 |
| 17 | Bruno FernandesManchester United2019/20–2025/26 | 72 |
| 18 | Son Heung-minTottenham Hotspur2015/16–2024/25 | 71 |
| 19 | Darren AndertonTottenham Hotspur, Birmingham City1992/93–2004/05 | 68 |
| 20 | Raheem SterlingManchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea + 1 more2011/12–2024/25 | 66 |
Just outside. The next five are Alan Shearer (64), Trent Alexander-Arnold (64), Gareth Barry (63), Matt Le Tissier (63) and Nolberto Solano (62).
What the table shows
Eight of the twenty made every one of their assists for a single club, a far higher share than on the scoring list — creators tend to be built into a team rather than bought into one. Six of the twenty are recognisably strikers rather than midfielders, Henry, Rooney, Cole, Sheringham, Salah and Son among them, which is a useful corrective to the idea that assists belong to the number ten.
The gap between first and second is the thing to sit with. Giggs played twenty-two Premier League seasons for one club; De Bruyne's total was compiled in eleven. Both facts are in the table above, and which of them you find more impressive says a lot about what you think this statistic is measuring.