Lionel Messi leads Cristiano Ronaldo in active players with most goal contributions | OneFootball

Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid stars are among the active players with the most goal contributions.

While every player has a role to play, it’s those who consistently provide goals and assists that are the most valuable to their teams.

Here are the eight active players with the most goals and assists.

8. Thomas Muller – 672 (346 goals + 326 assists)

Muller’s goals and assists are almost perfectly balanced, highlighting the sort of player he is.

The German attacking midfielder was a key cog in a Bayern Munich side that dominated the Bundesliga for well over a decade.

Aged 36, he’s still proving his worth today for the Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS.

7. Hulk – 690 (449 goals + 241 assists)

A somewhat surprising entry in seventh in Hulk, who is still doing the business for Atletico Mineiro in Brazil today, aged 39.

He’s scored the bulk of his goals in Brazil and China, but also enjoyed prolific spells in Europe with Porto and Zenit Saint Petersburg.

6. Karim Benzema – 723 (503 goals + 220 assists)

Still scoring goals today in Saudi Arabia, Benzema ranks sixth on our list with 723 combined goals and assists.

The Frenchman is Real Madrid’s second-highest-scoring player of all time and is one of only three players on this list to have won the Ballon d’Or.

5. Neymar – 732 (446 goals + 286 assists)

Aged 33, Neymar is the youngest player on this list.

He’s Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer with 79 strikes and has also scored an impressive 367 goals at club level.

The Brazilian also ranks as one of the best playmakers of his generation, with 286 assists and at his peak, there weren’t many players in football history who could hold a candle to his natural ability.

Since leaving Europe, his goalscoring prowess has declined significantly, having only scored eight goals over the last two and a half seasons for Al-Hilal and Santos.

Albeit, he’s spent most of that time on the sidelines with various injuries.

4. Robert Lewandowski – 899 (706 goals + 193 assists)

By the end of the year, Lewandowski will have almost certainly overtaken Suarez, currently being just two goal contributions behind him.

Impressively, the Polish striker is the only player on this list who still plays in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

Since joining Barcelona in 2022, he’s added another 109 goals to his collection, with eight of those goals coming in 2025-26 so far.

Aged 37, he still looks like he’s got a few years left in him at the top level yet.

3. Luis Suarez – 901 (584 goals + 317 assists)

With his contract at Inter Miami set to expire at the end of the year, it remains to be seen whether or not Suarez will continue playing beyond 2025.

If he does decide to retire in the near future, he can certainly look back upon his career with pride, having produced over 900 goal contributions since making his debut in 2005.

He currently sits third on this list, but is being rapidly closed down by the player behind him in fourth.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo – 1,213 (954 goals + 259 assists)

Ronaldo is rapidly chasing down 1000 goals, but he’ll have to settle for second place on this list.

The 40-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most prolific players of all time and his record of 259 assists is also well above average.

Along with Messi, he’s one of the only players to have produced more than 1000 goal contributions this century and is still going strong today.

1. Lionel Messi – 1,300 (896 goals + 404 assists)

After producing four goal contributions in Inter Miami’s latest outing against FC Cincinnati, Messi became the first player this century to reach 1,300 combined goals and assists.

He also holds the record as the player with the most assists in football history, with 404 and is second only to Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts.

Having recently signed a new contract, which is valid until the end of 2028, the 38-year-old still has plenty left in the tank.