Ok guys, let's have a little debate here. For goal scoring, no one beats Ronaldo at this moment, that's quite obvious. But,

Who is the best playmaker in the world at this moment? or who is the most visionary passer?

It's not about number of assists, cuz that we just have to look for statistic, and a lot of them are just simple passes... I am talking about the kind of player who deliver deadly passes, direct play, insane and visioned through balls, jaw-drop assists or passes (not ended up in goals) etc...

My list:

• Messi
• Ozil (dropping form)
• Xavi
• Kroos/Ribery
• Pirlo
• Mata
• Totti
• Fabregas

Messi.

I would add Fabregas

Ohh yes mate, I forgot, I felt like I missed someone :D of course I did (more) but Cecs yes.

Messi has been doing really good in that position lately , well he always was , but this season he is pure CAM rather than false 9 .

eriksen, is crazy at those type of passes but the chances aren't converted

Can't believe nobody added David Silva. The guy gets barely any credit. He was the outstanding one vs Hull today. He controls games all by his own.

i'm with Dynas. MESSI.

@DunkenMonkey I second Eriksen, but we're forgetting Di Maria!!

Messi/Ronaldo should be excluded from rankings, they are good everywhere.
Difficult choice, many players have this ability : I would add Di Maria/ David Silva/ Cazorla from PL, Verrati from Ligue 1, Pogba/Pjanic from Calcio, Modric/Rakitic/Iniesta from Liga and Bastian / Alonso from Bayern.

I would go for Iniesta or Modric.

@_\: I was thinking about David Silva, too, I went on and check his assist compilation, but no, he is not that kind of assist. He has his very unique skills overall, one of the best we have, but not the kind who make jaw dropping assists on game basis. His technique does.

@tiki: uhmn, Ronaldo shouldn't, he doesnt make those kind of assist either. He should be excluded on scoring machine striker type. Iniesta, yes. And Modric is a bit different, Modric bosses the attacking mid, but not direct kind of assist IMO

Messi for sure.This season he has changed,he makes many assists.Modric is good too,it's sad that he's way better in club than country.Rakitic have some deadly passes,he is good playmaker. Messi is my choose.

Nowadays, Xavi is out of this competition...

@Tuan_jinn

Ronaldo has the highest 'key passes per game' rate on the entire Madrid squad. Every season he is in the top 3 in our squad for most chances created. In the last 4 years in La Liga, Ronaldo is in the top 10 for most assists. His playmaking abilities are extremely underrated. His chances often go to waste because of poor finishing from his teammates. Much like Suarez in his first 1.5 seasons at Liverpool.

@Keisuke: Nope, you probably didn't see BArca's last game.

@Dyn: uhmn, with such a strong attack like Madrid has, it's not surprising to see Ronaldo to have more key passes because you guys constantly bombarding other's team defend, he's more likely to have goal-chance passes. It's not really about stats, like in case of Messi he provide the kind of passes that we wouldn't expect one would do.

In Portugal, Ronaldo just barely shine, and barely provide great assist (expect the last cross in the WC). Messi, if he doesn't score he would be the heart of their attack, providing assist etc... Im not saying Ronaldo is any less important in Portugal, Iam saying Ronaldo just can't provide those assist the players above can. that's why he's not in this list.

I don't judge anyone on a game (+ against Granada), I judge him on his performances last year (Classico's, CL, WC).
Maybe he still great but he is outshined by Messi and Iniesta in terms of playmaking.
A playmaker must lead his team to the goal, make hundreds of safe passes seems appreciated but that's not enough to be one of the best playmaker of today, otherwise, Busquets could be added too...

Modric/Iniesta for me.

@Tuan

Ronaldo's teammates at Portugal are garbage. No one finishes the excellent chances he creates for them. If you say that Ronaldo has high 'key passes' or 'chances created' stats because of the team he plays for, then you can say the same about Messi. Messi only has excellent assist stats because of the style his team plays.

I don't care if he's on your list or not, I'm just saying that he's an excellent play-maker who is frequently overlooked.

@Dyn: I know it's not black and white and quite hard to judge. But that's the reason why I dont count assist in this list, I'm more on how they make those assists. I dont put Messi on top because of pure # of assist.

Ronaldo for sure create a lot of key passes, harassing defenders but I have to disagree to call him an excellent play-maker as you said. He is not one. He is the greatest threat to any team defend, then YES.

May be his assist is overlooked, may be not. But no natural fans (or not significant) has regarded him as a play-maker, they do with Messi, Xavi, or Ozil.

@Billy: Same with Di Maria is great, but he has mostly normal assist :D.

^ I like more his crosses, deadly crosses :). I agree with you for the rest.
I wasnt talking about playmakers, just pass quality.

I agree that there is few playmakers in my list, but quality assisters.