LaLiga’s most creative players – Assist and key pass leaders

During the 21st century, LaLiga has been home to some of the great pass masters and some of the most naturally gifted playmakers in the modern era. A new crop of Spanish midfield and attacking talent is starting to emerge and many locally produced players feature in our rundown of LaLiga’s most creative players in the 2024/25 season.

Most assists in the 2024/25 season

While they’ve run into unexpected trouble in recent games, Barcelona have been the outstanding team in LaLiga so far, at least in terms of their peaks. Wingers Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have been at the heart of everything that has been good about Hansi Flick’s side and they are the two players to have created the most goals in the division so far in the 2024/25 season.

At 17, Yamal rightly grabs the headlines and he has registered an incredible 16 assists for club and country since the start of Euro 2024 in the summer. That’s compared to seven goals, so right now he is doing more damage with his creative qualities as opposed to his goalscoring.

Meanwhile, Raphinha has arguably been the best overall player in LaLiga this term with 11 goals and six assists for the Brazilian. His compatriot Vinicius Junior is also part of a group of six players to have already chalked up five assists in LaLiga 2024/25.

There’s also no surprise to see Villarreal’s Alex Baena feature, but Oscar Mingueza is a more unlikely inclusion, with the 25-year-old producing the best football of his career right now on the right flank for Celta.

Bryan Zaragoza has also been a big hit back in LaLiga after an unsuccessful stint in Germany with Bayern Munich. He has created three goals for Osasuna striker Ante Budimir. The only other players to combine for a goal as frequently are at Barcelona (Raphinha to Lewandowski and Yamal to Raphinha – both three).

Most assists since the start of the 2023/24 season

Taking into account the whole of last season, as well as the opening 16 matchdays of the present campaign, it is Baena who stands out as LaLiga’s assist king with 19 in 48 appearances. That’s all the more impressive given Villarreal weren’t one of the strongest teams in the division last season.

Raphinha is his closest rival on 15, while Nico Williams is just one behind on 14. The Spain international is hoping to spearhead Athletic’s top four challenge this season, although he has made a slightly slow start to the new campaign, following on from a fantastic Euro 2024 with his country when he teamed up brilliantly with Lamine Yamal who has registered 14 assists in LaLiga so far in his young career.

At the other end of the age scale, 37-year-old Iago Aspas is performing to a very high level for Celta Vigo. The Galician still poses a regular goal threat, but he has adapted his game and is often more of a creative influence these days with 13 assists in LaLiga since the beginning of the 2023/24 season.

Most key passes (2024/25)

In terms of key passes, Baena and Raphinha stand out as the two players most likely to make a decisive pass in the Spanish top flight right now.

There’s a significant gap to Getafe’s Luis Milla who is third with an average of 2.3 key passes per game. With very limited options up front, Getafe have often failed to take advantage of Milla’s creativity and they are the division’s joint lowest scorers, despite the midfielder’s ability to play a through ball or deliver from a set piece situation.

With Toni Kroos no longer around, Vinicius has become the Real Madrid player most likely to create an opportunity for a teammate, whilst also offering a major goal threat of his own. 

It’s a similar story at Real Betis where Giovani Lo Celso has been a revelation since returning from Tottenham at the end of the summer transfer window. He’s on 2.0 key passes per game, the same number as Carlos Vicente who has shone in a struggling Alaves side.

Most expected assisted goals (2024/25)

According to LaLiga passing data via FBREF up to and including matchday 16, Raphinha is the player with the most xAG per game.

Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Junior and Alex Baena also feature again, while Real Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez has registered 5.2 xAG, compared to only four actual assists. 

That suggests he has been providing excellent service for his teammates who have at times let him down by not converting the opportunities he has provided.

Final thoughts – Who are LaLiga’s most creative players?

With Savinho, Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan, Artem Dovbyk and Yan Couto all ending their stays in LaLiga in the summer, five of the top 10 in the assist rankings from last season are no longer active in the league.

That has created something of a creative void that few of the new arrivals are yet to fill, although Lo Celso, Sergio Gomez and Bryan Zaragoza have all caught the eye since moving clubs in the summer.

Right now, Raphinha stands out as LaLiga’s most creative player overall, ranking in the top two for expected goal assists, key passes and assists this season, as well as for assists since the beginning of last term.

He is certainly in the form of his life right now, although Alex Baena has arguably been the most consistent creative player in LaLiga over the past 18 months. Lamine Yamal’s assist numbers are also absolutely exceptional, with the youngster creating a goal every 134 minutes in LaLiga 2024/25.