Anyone who says Lionel Messi is a selfish footballer can now officially be proved wrong - with the Barca forward placing high in the charts for chance creation in recent years.
In new research conducted by the CIES Football Observatory, the most creative player domestically in the last 12 months is actually Messi's Argentinian compatriot, Angel Di Maria.
With Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Mauro Icardi among those in front of him for PSG, the playmaker leads the way with 32 big chances created in the last 12 months in Ligue 1, averaging around one every 82 minutes.
The 32-year-old has been an ever present for the French giants, but close behind him in the creativity charts are Thomas Muller, Lionel Messi and Kevin De Bruyne.
See the analysis from the last 12 months, three years and five years below...
From the last year: Big chances created for teammates
Muller was told last March by Germany boss Joachim Low that his international career was over, but the Bayern Munich man is going some way to proving him wrong.
We saw him play a starring role in their Champions League last 16 first-leg win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge recently, but he has also been consistently doing it in the Bundesliga.
Still only 30, Muller has revived his Bayern career and looks like the player we have grown to like over the years - both on and off the pitch, due to his infectious sense of humour - since he played a key role in knocking England out of the 2010 World Cup.
The versatile forward has the best minutes-per-chance ratio of any player in Europe's top five divisions - at 73 - with a total of 31 created.
Messi and De Bruyne, both key men for their respective sides, have the same minutes-per-chance ratio of 87 but Barca's Argentinian hitman just edges him with an extra chance created.
People may expect Messi's statistics to be on the decline at 32, but he is showing no sign of letting up. He has 24 goals and 16 assists in 31 Barca appearances this term, but in the last 12 months he has created a grand total of 29 opportunities.
De Bruyne is the heartbeat of Man City and they noticeably miss the Belgian when he is absent from Pep Guardiola's side - and the above stats prove just why.
His creativity and eye for a cutting edge pass is something that, despite all City's talent, is tough to replace. Then there is a gap, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and former Arsenal man Serge Gnabry among those in the chasing pack behind.
The stats:
From the last three years: Big chances created for teammates
The fab four of Messi, Muller, De Bruyne and Di Maria top the charts again, but the reigning Ballon d'Or winner is runaway leader by 30 more created chances in this period.
Another name up there in the last three years is Papu Gomez, who has spent the last six years at Atalanta.
The 32-year-old helped the Serie A side to Champions League qualification last term, despite them having a mid-table wage budget, as they finished third behind Juve and Napoli.
He has recorded at least 10 assists in the last four seasons now and will go down in history at La Dea.
A notable inclusion in there is Bournemouth's Ryan Fraser, whose contract is set to expire when the season ends. The Scotland attacker has been linked with Liverpool and Arsenal and, as well as his goal contribution, his chance creation shots show just why.
From the last five years: Big chances created for teammates
The statistics over five years...the ultimate test of time for consistency.
Some critics of Neymar Jr may be surprised to see the Brazilian superstar so highly placed on the list for this period, but the forward clearly has a selfless side to his game in a star-studded PSG team and for Barca before that.
But Neymar's stats are still some way behind Messi and even Di Maria, on 158 and 109 opportunities respectively, with the former averaging a big chance every 90 minutes.
De Bruyne is up there again, as is Muller and Messi's Barcelona team-mate Luis Suarez.
Then there are the usual suspects from the Premier League. Man City's David Silva, former Spurs man Christian Eriksen, Riyad Mahrez and Mo Salah - another player associated with being more selfless in the final third.
And Cristiano Ronaldo? A fantastic goalscorer, it cannot be denied, but statistics show he has eyes only for the goal in the final third.
Check out the CIES Football Observatory's research into big chances created, in full here.
*Data via OptaPro and correct from domestic league matches until February 18, 2020
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