21 assists by Bruno Fernandes: A genius record or a fake claim on social media?

On social media, there’s a post claiming that the Portuguese player has surpassed the record for the most assists in a single season by a Premier League legend. The figure seems impressive, but it needs to be verified against official tournament records.

The statistics from the Premier League confirm this claim only for some of the players listed. Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne indeed have 20 assists each in the seasons 2002/03 and 2019/20. Mesut Özil (19 assists in 2015/16) and Seck Fabregas (18 assists in 2014/15) are also listed correctly. However, the claims about Bruno Fernandes, Mohamed Salah, and Frank Lampard aren’t true. The Portuguese player’s best result in the Premier League is 14 assists in the 2020/21 season. The Egyptian player also has 14 assists, while Lampard has 13 assists. None of them have ever reached 18 or 21 assists in a single season in England.

It’s likely that the person who posted this claim mixed up statistics from all tournaments, included friendly matches, or used alternative methods of counting assists. In times of viral misinformation, critical thinking remains the most important skill. The Premier League records every assist according to strict rules. So, a record of 20 assists remains an official record. If Bruno really breaks this record, it will be announced by the league and his club first. Until then, such claims are just topics for discussion, not historical facts.