Alves, Marcelo, Robertson: Who're the most prolific full-backs in the 21st century? | OneFootball

Last Sunday, Dani Alves and Jordi Alba were at their brilliant best to help Barcelona achieve a priceless 4-2 victory over Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

Alba scored a sensational volleyed equaliser in the first half and was named Man of the Match for his efforts across the whole 90 minutes.

Alves was the player who assisted Alba’s goal and the Brazilian also got himself on the scoresheet in the second half with a strike that put Barcelona 4-1 up on the day.

The 38-year-old defender was sent off shortly after for a rash tackle on Yannick Carrasco, a minor blemish on an otherwise sensational overall display.

Alves and Alba’s ability to contribute to goals as regularly as an out-and-out winger is what has set them apart from most other world-class full-backs in the 21st century.

As such, it will come as no shock to learn that the pair feature in a list created by PopFoot that features the 20 most prolific full-backs since the turn of the millenium.

Both have contributed to over 150 goals each during the course of their professional careers thus far and Alves’ numbers almost beggar belief.

Let’s take a look at the list in full…

The 20 most prolific full-backs in the 21st century

20. Maicon – 78 (43 goals, 35 assists)

19. Maxwell – 79 (26 goals, 53 assists)

18. Gianluca Zambrotta – 80 (36 goals, 44 assists)

17. Alessandro Florenzi – 81 (44 goals, 37 assists)

16. Ricardo Rodriguez – 84 (35 goals, 49 assists)

15. Ashley Cole – 86 (20 goals, 66 assists)

14. Raphael Guerreiro – 86 (44 goals, 42 assists)

13. Andrew Robertson – 90 (21 goals, 69 assists)

12. Alex Telles – 96 (31 goals, 65 assists)

11. Philipp Lahm – 100 (24 goals, 76 assists)

10. Lukasz Piszczek – 107 (49 goals, 58 assists)

9. David Alaba – 107 (44 goals, 63 assists)

8. Leighton Baines – 116 (44 goals, 72 assists)

7. Aleksandar Kolarov – 122 (62 goals, 60 assists)

6. Thomas Meunier – 126 (60 goals, 66 assists)

5. John Arne Riise – 135 (71 goals, 64 assists)

4. Jordi Alba – 152 (45 goals, 107 assists)

3. Marcelo – 161 (50 goals, 111 assists)

2. Roberto Carlos – 263 (132 goals, 131 assists)

So, Alves has 202 assists to his name at the time of writing, which is just obscene. Most world-class playmakers struggle to get near a total that size in their careers.

Carlos is the only man on the list to register 100+ in each column, a timely reminder that the Real Madrid legend is one of the greatest full-backs the beautiful game has ever seen – if not THE greatest.

You can also be certain that Trent Alexander-Arnold, who may enter the GOAT full-back debate at some point, will join his Liverpool teammate Robertson on the list in the near future.