Goals win matches in football and assists lead to goals. So those creative through balls or a killer pass before the final touch into the net could be just as important for the attacking team as the finishing touch that leads to an eventual.

Though five players in English Premier League (EPL) have managed 100 or more assists, no one quite comes near the record of Manchester United’s former Welsh winger  Ryan Giggs, who holds the record for most assists in the Premier League.

Ryan Giggs is the only player to have made over 150 assists in the Premier League. He tops a list that includes Kevin De Bruyne, Cesc Fàbregas, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, the other four players with 100 or more.

None of the top ten is still playing in the Premier League. De Bruyne left Manchester City for Napoli in 2025, Mohamed Salah has joined Trabzonspor, and James Milner retired in June 2026 after a record 658 Premier League appearances. The highest-placed active player is Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes on 73, who set the Premier League record for assists in a season with 21 in 2025-26.

Most assists in English Premier League

Player (Nationality)

Clubs

Assists

Ryan Giggs (Wales)

Manchester United

162

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)

Chelsea, Manchester City

119

Cesc Fàbregas (Spain)

Arsenal, Chelsea

111

Wayne Rooney (England)

Everton, Manchester United

103

Frank Lampard (England)

West Ham United, Chelsea, Manchester City

102

Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands)

Arsenal

94

Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Chelsea, Liverpool

94

David Silva (Spain)

Manchester City

93

Steven Gerrard (England)

Liverpool

92

James Milner (England)

Leeds United, Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Manchester City, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion

90

Ryan Giggs (Wales) – 162 assists

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has made the most assists in the English Premier League. The Welsh winger made a total of 162 assists in the EPL and spent his entire senior club career with the Red Devils. 

During his time at Old Trafford from 1992 to 2014 in the Premier League, Ryan Giggs made 632 appearances for Manchester United. 

He was a key member of the dominant Manchester United side under Sir Alex Ferguson and won 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups, and two UEFA Champions League titles during his playing days. Giggs also scored 109 Premier League goals. 

Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium) – 119 assists

Kevin De Bruyne is second on the list with 119 assists in 288 Premier League games for Chelsea and Manchester City, the last of them in 2024-25. He holds the record for the quickest player to reach 50 Premier League assists, in 123 matches, and left City for Napoli in 2025.

Cesc Fabregas (Spain) – 111 assists

Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas, with a tally of 111 assists, ranks third for most assists in the English Premier League, behind Giggs and De Bruyne. He joined Arsenal in 2003, made his Premier League debut in 2004-05 and moved to Barcelona in 2011. 

Fabregas, who preferred playing as a central midfielder, returned to the Premier League for a stint with Chelsea in 2014 and played his last game for the club in 2019. During his stay at Chelsea, Fabregas won two EPL titles in 2014-15 and 2016-17. He played a total of 350 matches – 212 for Arsenal and 138 for Chelsea – in the English Premier League career and also scored 50 goals. 

Wayne Rooney (England) – 103 assists

Wayne Rooney was a prolific striker who could also feed in assists with precision. He is fourth on the Premier League’s all-time assists list and third on its scoring list, and the only player in the top five of both.

The English forward made a total of 103 assists during his time in the English Premier League. He made his Premier League debut for his boyhood club Everton in August 2002 and moved to Manchester United in 2004 after two seasons on the blue side of Merseyside.

Rooney spent the bulk of his club career with Manchester United and also netted 208 goals in the league. He was part of a Manchester United side that won five of the seven EPL seasons between 2006-07 to 2012-13. Rooney returned to Everton in the 2017-18 campaign and scored 10 goals in his farewell season in the league.

Photo credit: Alamy