The player with the most assists to Lionel Messi during his Barcelona career may surprise you

A surprise, but not a shock.

On first guess, you'd imagine the player who has created the most goals for Lionel Messi during his Barcelona career would be possibly Xavi. The midfielder, now winding down his illustrious career in Qatar, was the heartbeat of all-conquering Barcelona and Spain teams and could tread the ball through an eye of a needle. If it wasn't Xavi who has set up Messi more than any other player at the Catalan club, most would probably say current Barca captain Andreas Iniesta. However, it turns out it's Dani Alves has provided Messi with more goals than any other Barcelona player during the Argentine's ten years in the first-team. The Brazilian full-back has set up 38 of Messi's 424 goals, seven ahead of Iniesta and a whopping 15 ahead of Xavi.

Most assists to Messi with Barcelona: [38] Dani Alves [31] Iniesta [23] Xavi [21] Pedrito [13] Cesc [10] Alexis, Luis Suárez and NEYMAR

— MisterChip (English) (@MisterChiping) December 20, 2015

The pair do seem to have a special connection on the pitch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXHU-b4Obk