Who's the best passer in the world?

Who is the best passer in these categories:

Offensive passer
Midfield passer
Defensive passer
Crosses
Set pieces

Discuss.

Busquets is a WC passer.

Messi, Kroos and Modric are the best at the moment

Messi is the best for sure.

After that it depends on a lot of things. Some with more or less range or accuracy.

Messi is the best passer while running.

When the pace of the game is slower then the best choice would be Kroos.

What kind of passing? There's not just one kind. I don't think you can crown one player as the best overall passer.

Offensive passer? Messi.
Midfield passer? Kroos and a healthy Marchisio.
Defensive passer? Hummels for me.
Crosses? Bale. Doesn't do it enough either.
Set pieces? Payet.

In terms of their positions:

Goalie- Ter Stegen
Defender- Jerome Boateng
Midfielder- Toni Kroos
Forward- Lionel Messi

If you want one player, it's Messi. He's the best passer in the world.

Best defensive passer is Bonucci. Hummels is outstanding too.

Kroos gets title of best passer for passing the ball sideways from side to side?

Maybe I'm showing my ignorance here and people will disagree but personally I think Modric is a better passer than Kroos within his own team

Keeper - DDG
Defender - Bonucci
Midfielder - Iniesta
Forward - Ibra

I would say Pogba for midfielders

Messi and Ozil are ahead of most

Agree with Cbarca. Modric for me is better than Kroos.

Messi is not just the best passer today, but the best passer of all-time. Compared to other options Cruyff and Maradona, Messi has done more, more consitently and more ridiculous passes than those two. In modern football the difference is just huge between Messi and the rest.

Most through balls 09-16 in Europe's Top 5 leagues and Uefa Champions League and Europa League

251 Messi (+40%)
181 Fabregas
...

And it's not just statistics, or vision, his passing weight is peerless, sometimes looking even impossible.

I'm with sports on this. There are too many types of passes.

Throughballs: Messi & Ozil
Goal Kepper: Ter Stegen
Passing from  defence: Blind and Boateng
Strategic passing: Kroos, Weigl & Busquets
Forwards: Messi & Ozil
Crosses: Bale and Ozil
Free Kicks: De Bruyne & Payet

ALso you have players like Iniesta, Silva, Kagawa who are great in between the lines when they are compact because of their low centre of gravity so they can pull of combinations quikcer. Kroos cannot operate in these areas because he is slow and has very low dexterity and agility like Alonso.

Modric is good but the weight of a lot of his passes are off and he misplaces quite a few. Kroos has better accuracy and puts the ball in a better position for the reciever, especially when passed into space.

GK: Neuer and Ter Stegen.
Defenders: Bonucci, Hummels, Boateng
Midfielders: Modric, Kroos, Iniesta, Oezil, Alonso ()
Forwards: Messi

Sushi Master wrote:GK: Neuer and Ter Stegen.
Defenders: Bonucci, Hummels, Boateng
Midfielders: Modric, Kroos, Iniesta, Oezil, Alonso ()
Forwards: Messi

I second this though I'd also add Busquets to that list.

Sorry I rushed the thread abit because I was on the phone, I changed it now

BTW Alaba is a worthy nomination for best defensive passer.

Offensive passer - Oezil
Midfield passer - iniesta
Defensive passer - Boateng
Crosses - Bale
Set pieces - Kroos

I'm going to go with Pjanic for overall passer. He's sublime.

So are we not counting Pirlo, Gerrard, or Xavi anymore since they've gone to retirement leagues?

Offensive passer - Messi and it's not very close
Midfield variety passer- Verratti
Deep midfield long passer - Xabi Alonso
Deep midfield short strategic passer - Busquets and Weigl
Defensive passer - Bonucci and Hummels
Crosses - Ozil
Set piece delivery - ?????

Bonucci, Verratti, Iniesta, Messi. There are different types of passes, so you can't name just one player at one position.

As for set pieces Pjanic is the best in the world according to Juninho, who is considered the greatest set piece taker of all time...

Can I nominate Reus in the set piece category? His crossing is incredibly accurate in dead ball situations.

iniesta

Mati Fernandez.

Andrea Bertolacci