Who has the most assists in international football history? Lionel Messi, Neymar seek all-time FIFA record

While goals are the most glamorous part of world football, scoring chances must be created from somewhere, and often those come from teammates.

At the international level, both scoring and assisting goals are rare and coveted events for most players. Yet some have accumulated historic totals across glittering careers, and those all-time greats are who we tend to celebrate most.

Assists at the international level are somewhat hard to keep track of, as record-keeping can be patchy – especially in past decades – and even in today's game there can sometimes be slight discrepancies in how goal assists are logged.

Yet The Sporting News has compiled the available data and brought you the all-time assist leaders in in the history of international football. While two legends are closing in on securing the record for themselves, the current leader may surprise you.

Lionel Messi goals, assists and stats for 2023/24 season with Argentina & Inter Miami

The individual with the most assists is American legend Landon Donovan, who accumulated 58 assists throughout his illustrious international career, according to U.S. Soccer's media guide. Donovan, coincidentally, is also the career assists leader in Major League Soccer, and the league's Player of the Year award is named after him to honor his services.

However, his record is unlikely to last for much longer. Two South American legends – Neymar of Brazil and Lionel Messi of Argentina – are hot on his heels, and likely to both overtake the USMNT star.

Neymar is just two assists shy of Donovan at the top, while Messi is five back of the American. It feels only a matter of time before both surpass the current leader, and even if that should fall short, at least one will almost surely reach the