Who has the most assists in Premier League history?

Ryan Giggs is the player with the most assists in Premier League history, 162 in 632 appearances, a lead of 43 over second place that no one active has any realistic path to closing. Kevin De Bruyne sits second on 119, Cesc Fabregas third on 111, and the striking thing about the list is how little it has changed while the league around it changed completely. The claim worth disagreeing with is that the record is the talent ranking. De Bruyne reached 100 assists in 237 matches, 130 fewer than Giggs needed for the same milestone, which makes Giggs's total the greatest longevity stat in the competition and De Bruyne's rate the strongest pure-creation stat. Both records are true; they are just answering different questions.

Who has the most assists in Premier League history

The all-time list, as it stood at the end of the 2025/26 season: Ryan Giggs 162, Kevin De Bruyne 119, Cesc Fabregas 111, Wayne Rooney 103, Frank Lampard 102, Dennis Bergkamp 94, Mohamed Salah 94, David Silva 93, Steven Gerrard 92 and James Milner 90. David Beckham is next on 80, then Christian Eriksen 78, Teddy Sheringham 76, Thierry Henry 74, Ashley Young 74, Andrew Cole 73, Bruno Fernandes 72, Heung-min Son 71, Darren Anderton 68 and Raheem Sterling 65.

Giggs set the mark across two decades at Manchester United, while De Bruyne's 119 came at Manchester City in barely a third of the appearances. Fabregas's 111 came across two clubs, 70 at Arsenal and 41 at Chelsea, while Bergkamp's 94 all came for Arsenal, the third-highest total for a single club in the competition. Gerrard's 92 all came for Liverpool, a tally Salah matched on 11 February 2026 and then passed in his last game for the club on the final day of the 2025/26 season, finishing level with Bergkamp on 94.

How fast each player reached 100 assists

Only five players have ever reached a century of Premier League assists, and the speed difference between them is the most revealing stat in the record book. De Bruyne hit 100 in 237 matches, the fastest anyone has done it, with Fabregas next on 293, then Giggs 367, Rooney 445 and Lampard 559.

The list makes the Giggs-versus-De Bruyne debate easy to frame. Giggs finished with 162 but needed 632 appearances to get there, roughly 0.26 assists per game. De Bruyne finished on 119 but in only 237 matches to his century, a rate no one else approaches. De Bruyne's last assist came against Crystal Palace on 12 April 2025, and he left City at the end of the 2024/25 season for Napoli, so the all-time record now looks safe for a generation. The single-season record, meanwhile, belongs to Bruno Fernandes, whose 21 assists in 2025/26 broke the 20-assist seasons of De Bruyne in 2019/20 and Thierry Henry in 2002/03.

The active players still climbing the list

James Milner, at 90, is the only active player inside the top ten, having moved through Leeds, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton. Bruno Fernandes is 17th on 72, and outside the top 20 the closest active players are Andy Robertson on 60 and Jordan Henderson on 57. Mohamed Salah finished the season level with Bergkamp on 94, and he was the 10th player to register 90 Premier League assists; he passed Teddy Sheringham, Thierry Henry, Andy Cole and David Beckham in the 2025/26 season alone, which shows how fast a late-career surge can move a player up a list that looks frozen.

Bernardo Silva cleared the 50-assist barrier in 2025/26, and the players closest to 50 are James Maddison and Bukayo Saka, both two assists away. The list's shape means an active player faces a long climb: Salah, at 94, is still 68 assists behind Giggs.

Why the record will probably never be broken

The arithmetic is brutal for anyone chasing Giggs. To reach 162, a player starting from zero would need to average more than 15 assists a season for a decade, and no active player is on anything close to that pace. De Bruyne reached 100 faster than anyone in history and still finished 43 short, because his career ran through an era of squad rotation, fewer minutes at the peak, and a club that changed its attack around him. Salah, the only active player near the top, is 68 back with the gap growing rather than shrinking.

The realistic reading is that the all-time assists record is a 1990s and 2000s artefact: Giggs, Rooney, Lampard and Beckham all did their best work in an era of 38-match campaigns and settled first elevens. The modern records are the rate records, De Bruyne's century in 237 matches and Fernandes's 21 in a season, and those are the ones an active playmaker can actually chase. Fans arguing that Giggs's 162 will fall are arguing against a half-century of league history and the maths of the modern schedule at once.

Key takeaways

• Ryan Giggs holds the record with 162 Premier League assists in 632 appearances, 43 clear of Kevin De Bruyne on 119.
• Only five players have reached 100 assists: Giggs, De Bruyne, Fabregas, Rooney and Lampard.
• De Bruyne reached his century in 237 matches, the fastest ever and 130 games quicker than Giggs.
• Mohamed Salah finished the 2025/26 season on 94, level with Dennis Bergkamp and above Steven Gerrard's 92.
• Bruno Fernandes holds the single-season record with 21 assists in 2025/26, ahead of the 20 posted by De Bruyne and Henry.

FAQ

Who has the most assists in Premier League history?

Ryan Giggs, with 162 assists in 632 appearances for Manchester United. Kevin De Bruyne is second on 119 and Cesc Fabregas third on 111.

How many assists does Kevin De Bruyne have?

119 in total, the second most in Premier League history. He reached 100 in just 237 matches, the fastest any player has done it, and left Manchester City for Napoli at the end of the 2024/25 season.

What is the record for most assists in one Premier League season?

21, set by Bruno Fernandes in 2025/26. It broke the previous record of 20 shared by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019/20 and Thierry Henry in 2002/03.

Is Mohamed Salah close to the all-time assists record?

He is 68 assists behind Ryan Giggs, on 94 after the 2025/26 season. He equalled Steven Gerrard's Liverpool record of 92 in February 2026 and passed it on the final day of the season.