Mesut Ozil has officially announced his retirement. He leaves behind 114 goals and more than 200 assists, in addition to the numerous titles he won.
The former Real Madrid midfielder recorded as many as 222 assists in club level and another 40 with the German national team.
These figures place him among the best passers in the 21st century. But if he were to compete with players such as Lionel Messi, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Neymar, Frank Ribery, Angel Di Maria, Xavi Hernandez, Juan Roman Riquelme, Kevin De Bruyne, Toni Kroos, Andres Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo and Cesc Fabregas, where would you rank Ozil?
Messi’s dominance
According to several databases, Messi is the best assist contributor in the history of football. In fact, he recently surpassed the 300-assist mark
Although many of the players on the list are still active, others such as Figo, Beckham, Pirlo, Xavi, Giggs, Riquelme and Ribery have already hung up their boots.
Xavi and Pirlo dictated the tempo in midfield, while Beckham was a set-piece master and Riquelme was a magician, with Figo, Giggs or Ribery being more controlled players.
Argentine talent
Di Maria has recorded a whopping 278 assists, 119 of which came in the 295 games that he played for Paris Saint-Germain.
La Masia
The famous Barcelona academy produced spectacular midfielders such as Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas. While the former has become Barcelona‘s coach, the latter two are still playing football in Japan and Italy, respectively.
Veterans
This category consists of players such as Modric, Kroos, De Bruyne and Neymar, all of whom shine in their respective leagues.
