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Assists (Opta™ criteria) given by Messi vs Ronaldo in international club competitions

Opta stands out as the most reliable statistics hub and serves as the de facto ‘official’ statistics provider in football. They furnish data to esteemed platforms such as the BBC, the Premier League, WhoScored, Squawka, and numerous other prominent media outlets.

Below is Opta’s interpretation of an assist:

The final touch (pass, pass-cum-shot or any other touch) leading to the recipient of the ball scoring a goal. If the final touch is deflected by an opposition player, the initiator is only given a goal assist if the receiving player was likely to receive the ball without the deflection having taken place. Own goals, directly taken free kicks, direct corner goals and penalties do not get an assist awarded.

Cumulative distribution

Period	Kylian Mbappé	Erling Haaland	Difference
2015/2016	1	0	+1
2016/2017	1	0	+1
2017/2018	4	0	+4
2018/2019	9	1	+8
2019/2020	14	2	+12
2020/2021	17	4	+13
2021/2022	21	4	+17
2022/2023	24	5	+19
2023/2024	24	6	+18
2024/2025	26	7	+19

Assists type

Compiled using Opta™ data from 2009 to present, for the following competitions:

Bundesliga, Community Shield, EFL Cup, FIFA World Cup, FIFA World Cup Qualifier, La Liga, Ligue 1, Norwegian League, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euro, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League, UEFA Super Cup

Player	Games	Cross		Corner		Throughball		Free kick		Others
Erling Haaland	271	1/42	2.38%	0/42	0%	6/42	14.29%	0/42	0%	35/42	83.33%
Kylian Mbappé	431	12/109	11.01%	1/109	0.92%	11/109	10.09%	0/109	0%	86/109	78.9%

Source: Opta™ Sports – Last update: 24/08/2025

Distribution by season

Period	Kylian Mbappé	Erling Haaland	Difference
2015/2016	1		+1
2016/2017			0
2017/2018	3		+3
2018/2019	5	1	+4
2019/2020	5	1	+4
2020/2021	3	2	+1
2021/2022	4		+4
2022/2023	3	1	+2
2023/2024		1	-1
2024/2025	2	1	+1

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
AS Monaco FC	10	6	1	0.60	0.10	0.70
PSG	64	42	23	0.66	0.36	1.02
Real Madrid	19	10	2	0.53	0.11	0.63
Totals	93	58	26	0.62	0.28	0.90

Summary

Kylian Mbappé 26 years, 8 months, 4 days

	Totals			Per game
Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Goals	Assists	Contrib.
Molde FK	5	4	1	0.80	0.20	1.00
RB Salzburg	7	8	1	1.14	0.14	1.29
B. Dortmund	13	15	2	1.15	0.15	1.31
Manchester City	34	29	3	0.85	0.09	0.94
Totals	59	56	7	0.95	0.12	1.07