De Bruyne, Zidane, Ozil: Who is the most prolific No. 10 of the 21st century? | OneFootball

Is Kevin De Bruyne the best midfielder on the planet?

Yeah, he probably is.

For years now, the Manchester City superstar has lit up the game at the very highest level.

De Bruyne’s midfield magnificence is a key reason why the Citizens have won four of the last five Premier League titles.

The Belgian’s goals, assists and countless masterclasses have also seen him win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award on two separate occasions.

To put it simply, De Bruyne is an absolute joke of a footballer, a man who will certainly go down as one of the greatest to ever lace a pair of boots.

On top of all of his trophies and individual accolades, De Bruyne can now boast about being the most prolific attacking midfielder (number 10) of the 21st century.

According to data collected by PopFoot, the 31-year-old’s impressive start to the 2022/23 season has seen him overtake fellow icon Kaka at the summit.

De Bruyne is also the first footballer in his department to reach 400 goal contributions…

The 20 most prolific No.10s of the 21st century

20. Santi Cazorla – 228 goal contributions

Goals: 110 | Assists: 118

19. Diego – 244 goal contributions

Goals: 189 | Assists: 55

18. Hakim Ziyech – 256 goal contributions

Goals: 129 | Assists: 127

17. Oscar – 261 goal contributions

Goals: 121 | Assists: 140

16. Rafael van der Vaart – 265 goal contributions

Goals: 196 | Assists: 69

15. Bruno Fernandes – 271 goal contributions

Goals: 151 | Assists: 120

14. Mathieu Valbuena – 272 goal contributions

Goals: 106 | Assists: 166

13. Juan Mata – 295 goal contributions

Goals: 150 | Assists: 145

12. Marek Hamsik – 302 goal contributions

Goals: 169 | Assists: 133

11. James Rodriguez – 313 goal contributions

Goals: 151 | Assists: 162

10. Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 328 goal contributions

Goals: 186 | Assists: 142

9. Nene – 335 goal contributions

Goals: 250 | Assists: 85

8. Christian Eriksen – 336 goal contributions

Goals: 151 | Assists: 185

7. Wesley Sneijder – 349 goal contributions

Goals: 184 | Assists: 165

6. Juninho – 351 goal contributions

Goals: 211 | Assists: 140

5. Zinedine Zidane – 361 goal contributions

Goals: 156 | Assists: 205

4. Mesut Ozil – 361 goal contributions

Goals: 121 | Assists: 240

3. David Silva – 365 goal contributions

Goals: 159 | Assists: 206

2. Kaka – 398 goal contributions

Goals: 236 | Assists: 162

1.Kevin De Bruyne – 401 goal contributions

Goals: 161 | Assists: 240

Unreal, just unreal from Kev.

As well as sitting top of the pile, De Bruyne possesses the best record when it comes to goal contributions per game among those in the top 20.

Manchester United star actually is.

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