Kevin De Bruyne celebrated a milestone moment at the weekend, as the Manchester City midfielder became just the fifth footballer to reach a century of Premier League assists.
The brilliant Belgian has been the Premier League’s best creator for much of his time at the Etihad and joined an illustrious list of names to have reached 100 assists in the division.
No player has ever reached a century in quicker fashion than De Bruyne and we’ve ranked each member of the Premier League’s 100 assist’ club by how many games it took them to reach the milestone.
Frank Lampard – 559 appearances
Frank Lampard ranks fourth for Premier League assists, having created 103 goals during a decorated career that took in spells at West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Lampard enjoyed his biggest success at Chelsea, where he forged a reputation as the greatest goalscoring midfielder of his generation and became the Blues’ all-time leading scorer. Just five players have ever scored more Premier League goals than Lampard, who is one of just three men – alongside Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs – to reach a century of both goals and assists.
That Lampard assist! ????
The first in our 4-1 win at home to West Ham #onthisday in 2006! #TBT pic.twitter.com/5RI9jXEHY4
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 9, 2020
Lampard led the Premier League for assists on three occasions, including during the 2004/05 season when he was named as FWA Footballer of the Year as Chelsea won a drought-breaking title under Jose Mourinho.
His most productive campaign came in 2009/10 as Chelsea won a Premier League and FA Cup double. The former England international scored 22 goals and provided 14 assists in just 36 league appearances. He also holds the record for most assists from one player to another, having set up Didier Drogba on 24 occasions.
Wayne Rooney – 445 appearances
Wayne Rooney reached a century of Premier League assists in 445 appearances.
Rooney holds the record as the most productive footballer in Premier League history, with 319 goal contributions in the division. He is the only footballer to have broken the 300-barrier to date.
Having burst onto the scene as a teenager at Everton, Rooney signed for Manchester United and went on to become the club’s all-time leading scorer, breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record.
???? @WayneRooney ➡️ @Persie_Official = ????#MUFC #GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/AZma5OcMvy
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 22, 2020
He later returned to Everton for a second spell, before departing the Premier League having become just the second player at that time – after Alan Shearer – to reach 200 goals.
Ryan Giggs – 367 appearances
Ryan Giggs has provided more Premier League assists than any other player, but was only the third-fastest to reach a century in terms of appearances.
Giggs is the most decorated footballer in English football history after an astonishing one-club career at Manchester United, one which saw the Welsh winger win 13 league titles, four FA Cups and two Champions League trophies among his record-breaking collection of honours.
Giggs laid on a record 162 assists in the Premier League, 51 more than the next highest player and 62 more than De Bruyne, the highest active footballer. It is a record that might never be broken.
Cesc Fabregas – 293 appearances
Cesc Fabregas racked up assists during an impressive Premier League career, one which began at Arsenal as the Spanish schemer rose through the ranks to break into the side as a teenager.
Full of creative invention and promise, he cemented himself as the figurehead of the Arsenal side in the post-Invincibles era and was later named club captain. Fabregas’ finest football came in 2009/10, as he scored 15 goals and provided 15 assists in just 27 league appearances for Arsenal to earn inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.
The best #PL assist you've ever seen? ????#GoalOfTheDay @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/VoSSE1qC6J
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 14, 2019
The midfielder later won two Premier League titles at Chelsea and is one of just seven players to have provided FOUR assists in a single fixture.
Just three players created more Premier League chances than Fabregas between 2004/05 and 2014/15, a remarkable statistic when considering the Spaniard spent three of those seasons at Barcelona. Only Ryan Giggs has ever provided more than his 111 assists in the division.
Kevin De Bruyne – 237 appearances
Kevin De Bruyne set a new record as the fastest footballer to reach a century of Premier League assists last weekend, as the Belgian broke Fabregas’ landmark by 56 appearances.
De Bruyne had been the quickest player to reach 50 assists (123) and holds the record for most Premier League assists in a single season (20 – 2019/20), alongside Arsenal’s Thierry Henry.
To celebrate 100 @KevinDeBruyne assists in the #PL…
Here are 10 times @ManCity's playmaker put it on a plate for his team-mates ???? pic.twitter.com/wAtvHG4ver
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 8, 2023
The 31-year-old’s average of 0.42 assists per game is comfortably the highest in the all-time top 10, ahead of Fabregas (0.32), Dennis Bergkamp (0.30) and David Beckham (0.30).
A master of his craft, De Bruyne’s ability to open up defences with passes of perfect wait and precision have been a driving force in Manchester City’s modern dominance. He has won four Premier League titles and has been named as the PFA Player of the Year on two occasions.
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