Assist race 2025/26: Can Olise outshine a 39-year-old Messi before dreaming of his records

As the 2025/26 football season enters its final stretch, a fascinating statistical battle is unfolding—one that pits the legendary Lionel Messi against Bayern Munich’s rising star, Michael Olise.

Statistic Lionel Messi (39) Michael Olise (24)
Assists (All Comps) 32 32
Goals (All Comps) ~20+ 25+
Notable Achievements 2026 World Cup top scorer (8 goals, 4 assists); 2025 MLS Golden Boot (29 goals, 19 assists) Bundesliga Player of the Season (15 goals, 19 assists); 57 appearances with 25 goals & 28 assists for Bayern

The numbers are striking. According to Opta-approved statistics, Olise has amassed 17 assists across all competitions this season, while other sources credit him with 19 assists. Meanwhile, Messi has recorded 7 assists in 14 MLS appearances, 4 assists at the 2026 World Cup, and additional contributions from other competitions—bringing his total to 32 alongside Olise.

At 39, Messi continues to defy logic. He led Argentina to another World Cup final, topped the goalscoring charts with eight goals, and added four assists—second only to Olise’s five at the tournament. In MLS, he secured the 2025 Golden Boot with 29 goals and 19 assists, then followed up with 12 goals and eight assists in 14 appearances in 2026. His legacy is already cemented as the all-time leader in men’s international assists with 60.

Olise, by contrast, is writing his own story. The 24-year-old Frenchman has been imperious in the Bundesliga, racking up 15 goals and a league-high 19 assists on his way to claiming Player of the Season honours. He has smashed 25 goals and 28 assists from 57 competitive outings for Bayern this term. In the Champions League, he added five goals and eight assists in 12 matches. Across Europe’s top five leagues, he is the only player to have reached double figures in both goals (10) and assists (13) after only 18 league appearances.

The Numbers Game

But here is the catch: Messi’s 32 assists include contributions from MLS, the World Cup, and other competitions. Olise’s 32 assists come from the Bundesliga, Champions League, DFB-Pokal, and international duty with France. The Frenchman has been phenomenal—averaging a goal or assist every 59 minutes in the Bundesliga—but he is competing against a man who has redefined longevity.

Can Olise Finish Ahead?

With the season not yet over, the question is not whether Olise can break Messi’s all-time single-season record of 30 assists for Barcelona in 2011-12—but whether he can even out-assist the 39-year-old Messi this season.

At his current rate of productivity, Olise would end the campaign on 51 goals and assists in the Bundesliga alone—a figure only three players this century have bettered: Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez, and Lionel Messi himself. But Messi, even at 39, shows no signs of slowing down.

The Verdict

The debate is no longer about legacy—Messi’s is secure. It is about the present. Can Olise, at 24, outshine a 39-year-old who continues to rewrite the rules of ageing in football? The numbers say they are level. The narrative says otherwise.

For now, the assist race remains too close to call. But one thing is certain: if Olise is to ever break Messi’s records, he must first prove he can outperform the Argentine while Messi is still playing. And that, perhaps, is the greatest challenge of all.