Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century? | OneFootball

Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century? | OneFootball

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·9 February 2022

Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

Article image:Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

Last Sunday, Dani Alves and Jordi Alba were at their brilliant best to help Barcelona achieve a priceless 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

Alba scored a sensational volleyed equaliser in the first half and was named Man of the Match for his efforts across the whole 90 minutes.


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Alves was the player who assisted Alba’s goal and the Brazilian also got himself on the scoresheet in the second half with a strike that put Barcelona 4-1 up on the day.

The 38-year-old defender was sent off shortly after for a rash tackle on Yannick Carrasco, a minor blemish on an otherwise sensational overall display.

Alves and Alba’s ability to contribute to goals as regularly as an out-and-out winger is what has set them apart from most other world-class full-backs in the 21st century.

As such, it will come as no shock to learn that the pair feature in a list created by PopFoot that features the 20 most prolific full-backs since the turn of the millenium.

Article image:Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

Both have contributed to over 150 goals each during the course of their professional careers thus far and Alves’ numbers almost beggar belief.

Let’s take a look at the list in full…

The 20 most prolific full-backs in the 21st century

20. Maicon – 78 (43 goals, 35 assists)

19. Maxwell – 79 (26 goals, 53 assists)

18. Gianluca Zambrotta – 80 (36 goals, 44 assists)

17. Alessandro Florenzi – 81 (44 goals, 37 assists)

16. Ricardo Rodriguez – 84 (35 goals, 49 assists)

Article image:Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

15. Ashley Cole – 86 (20 goals, 66 assists)

14. Raphael Guerreiro – 86 (44 goals, 42 assists)

13. Andrew Robertson – 90 (21 goals, 69 assists)

12. Alex Telles – 96 (31 goals, 65 assists)

11. Philipp Lahm – 100 (24 goals, 76 assists)

Article image:Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

10. Lukasz Piszczek – 107 (49 goals, 58 assists)

9. David Alaba – 107 (44 goals, 63 assists)

8. Leighton Baines – 116 (44 goals, 72 assists)

7. Aleksandar Kolarov – 122 (62 goals, 60 assists)

6. Thomas Meunier – 126 (60 goals, 66 assists)

Article image:Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century?

5. John Arne Riise – 135 (71 goals, 64 assists)

4. Jordi Alba – 152 (45 goals, 107 assists)

3. Marcelo – 161 (50 goals, 111 assists)

2. Roberto Carlos – 263 (132 goals, 131 assists)

  1. Dani Alves – 276 (74 goals, 202 assists)

So, Alves has 202 assists to his name at the time of writing, which is just obscene. Most world-class playmakers struggle to get near a total that size in their careers.

Carlos is the only man on the list to register 100+ in each column, a timely reminder that the Real Madrid legend is one of the greatest full-backs the beautiful game has ever seen – if not THE greatest.

You can also be certain that Trent Alexander-Arnold, who may enter the GOAT full-back debate at some point, will join his Liverpool teammate Robertson on the list in the near future.

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