Most assists by a defender
©IMAGO
With his corner kick to make it 3-0 for Borussia Dortmund against SC Freiburg, Julian Ryerson collected his 13th assist of this Bundesliga season. The Norwegian is the defender with the most assists in the league and ranks second in Europe’s top leagues. Ryerson has more than doubled his haul from the last two BVB seasons combined, bringing him closer to a milestone in the German upper house. If Ryerson plays twice in the three remaining matches, he will even equal Alejandro Grimaldo’s record.
Grimaldo (Bayer Leverkusen) had 15 assists in 33 games in the 2023/24 double season, breaking the record set by Jorginho for the most goal preparations by a defender in a Bundesliga season. The Spaniard has seven assists and eight goals this season. When it comes to assists, Grimaldo cannot currently compete with the Norwegian, but he is far more dangerous in scoring. Grimaldo managed 25 goals across all competitions and, as a left-back, is his team’s best scorer.
The historically second-placed Jorginho also made 14 assists for the Werkself in the 1991/92 season, and the Brazilian’s rating occupies a special position. Because of reunification in 1990, the 1991/92 Bundesliga consisted of 20 instead of 18 teams and Jorginho theoretically had four more games to improve his scoring statistics. With his 13th assist last weekend, Ryerson made it into the top three. He shares third place with David Raum (2021/22), Philipp Max (2017/18) and DFB legend Franz Beckenbauer (1973/74).
With 0.46 assists per game, Ryerson has the best rate as of today and would add another goal in the last three matches if he keeps his value constant. He showed that the Norwegian can also set a new record in the duel with Mainz 05 on February 13th. In the 4-0 win, he managed four assists – in a game in the first or second Bundesliga, only 23 professionals could do that before him. With his numbers, Ryerson also occupies a leading position within the top 5 leagues. Only Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco collected more assists as a defender (18). At the same time, he broke the Serie A record for the most goal preparations by a player in one season.
Ryerson’s renewed offensive strength is also reflected in its market value. Despite being 28 years old, his valuation rose from 20 to 25 million euros in the last interim update – the right-back is the ninth most valuable professional in the BVB squad. His strong performances have apparently attracted interest from some top clubs. However, managing director Lars Ricken made it clear in a “WAZ” interview at the beginning of March that he really wanted to keep Ryerson: “Julian is an absolute top performer, a mentality monster who also poses an incredible threat to our set-piece situations with his quality. We have absolutely no intention of letting him go.”
