Where is Ozil in the ranking of the best passers of the 21st century?

CWith Mesut Özil there are many questions surrounding his career: How far could he have gone if he had been more regular? In what position of a hypothetical midfielder ranking is he? Different questions that would have been easier to answer if the performance that the German left in the national team, Real Madrid or Arsenal had replicated it more constantly. However, the more than 600 matches that include the Gelsenkirchen player and his infinite quality invite us, once he has confirmed his withdrawal, to ask a question: Is he among the best ‘passers’ of the 21st century?

The world champion in Brazil 2014 leaves as a baggage, in addition to the titles achieved, 114 goals and more than 200 assists distributed. Specifically, 222 goal passes with their clubs (81 in 159 games with Real Madrid, for example… which means more than one every two games) or 40 with the German team. 262 assists, in total.

These figures place him as one of the best passers of the 21st century. But… With whom do you compete? If we only count midfielders or midfielders and we take forwards like Luis Suárez or Henry, the candidates are the following: Leo Messi, Luis Figo, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Neymar, Frank Ribéry, Ángel Di María, Xavi Hernández, Juan Román Riquelme, Kevin De Bruyne, Toni Kroos, Andrés Iniesta, Andrea Pirlo and Cesc Fábregas. And which one do you prefer?

The kingdom of Leo Messi

There are several databases that place Leo Messi as the footballer with the most assists in the history of football. And it is that recently he surpassed the barrier of 300 goal passes completed. The Argentine star, recent winner of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (with three of these assists) will undoubtedly be on the passerby podium of many of MARCA’s readers.

The old guard, also present

Although many of the players on the list are still active, others have already hung up their boots. This is the case of Luis Figo, David Beckham, Andrea Pirlo, Xavi Hernández, Ryan Giggs, Juan Román Riquelme, Franck Ribéry… some have decided to continue leaving their mark as coaches, others as businessmen… but the memory of their class remains in the memory of those who were able to see them play live.

And, at the same time, on this highly renowned list, there are ‘players’ of all kinds. Rulers of the game from midfield like Xavi or Pirlo, masters of set pieces like Beckham, authentic magicians like Riquelme or very versatile and unbalancing footballers like Figo, Giggs or Ribéry.

Argentine talent

It is no coincidence to find three Argentines on this list. In addition to Messi and Riqulme, there is Di María. ‘El Fideo’ has 278 goal passes in his entire career if we add clubs and the Argentine team. The current Juventus footballer continues to demonstrate his category at 35… and Rosario’s does not set a date for his magic.

He left Paris, by the way, setting the record for goal passes completed: 119 in 295 games played.

The talent of La Masia

Beyond Messi, we find in this section Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Cesc Fábregas, three of the great passers in Spanish and world football. After reaching the pinnacle of football in the 2008-12 cycle, Barcelona’s three homegrown players were widely recognized by the general public.

Xavi hung up his boots and became a coach, first in Qatar and then in Barcelona, ​​his home; Iniesta and Fábregas, in Japan and Italy, continue to show their quality.

Veterans don’t give in

This is the case of Modric, Kroos, De Bruyne or Neymar. Each one at a more or less advanced moment in their career but all with more than a decade in the elite, none of them give in to the ’emerging’ talent that is emerging in the world of football. Dominant in their local leagues or in the best club competition in the world (the Champions League), in each highly demanding match they send a message to the applicants: “Overthrowing us will not be easy.”