The best right-wingers in the world – the providers, the show ponies and the speed merchants all included
The 10 best right-wingers in the world right now(Image credit: Future)
Who are the best right-wingers in the world? It isn't an easy task to answer in the modern age.
With 4-4-2 more or less resigned to history (we're aware of the irony!), a myriad of formations mean wide men are a different breed than the classic crossers of the 1990s.
These days, they're also goalscorers, pressers, raumdeuters and more. Ahead of Euro 2024, we asked our expert panel to sort through the lot of them, judging them on form, legacy and pure technical and physical excellence. They've come up with a score of the best and decided upon their ranking.
What do you think? Tweet @FourFourTwo – and see who else we ranked where.
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The 10 best right-wingers in the world right now: 10. Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig on loan from Paris Saint-Germain and the Netherlands)
Not exactly a right-winger by name but certainly by what he has to do. RB Leipzig famously deploy a 4-2-2-2, with Xavi Simons often dropped onto the right side of those attacking AMs – but though he drifts a lot more centrally than your traditional RWs, he gives enough left-backs a headache to find himself on this list.
Simons is intelligent, physical and intense out of possession, exploiting space between the lines and combining with his frontline to both supply and run beyond the forwards. Paris Saint-Germain will be having serious conversations about how he integrates into their first-team this summer – especially if he performs for the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
9. Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad and Japan)
Takefusa Kubo is fulfilling his otherworldly potential (Image credit: Getty Images)
It took a few years and spells at Barcelona and Real Madrid among others, but Takefusa Kubo appears to have found a home at Real Sociedad.
The Japanese international was a crucial part in his side’s top-six finish this season, netting seven times and serving up four assists in La Liga. His game has evolved from an out-and-out winger into one that sees him drift inside to make his mark on the game and the 23-year-old looks set to be his country’s brightest talents for years to come.
8. Michael Olise (Crystal Palace and France)
Dejan Kulusevski kisses the ball after scoring (Image credit: Getty Images)
A red-hot end to the season has put the former Reading winger firmly in the middle of the summer’s transfer narrative – and Crystal Palace's Michael Olise is worth every penny he eventually leaves for.
A couple of hamstring issues restricted the 22-year-old to just 19 Premier League appearances this season, but he made the most of his time on the pitch, netting 10 times and providing six assists, with new Eagles boss Oliver Glasner getting the most out of him. A release clause in his contract means that a high-profile transfer is likely this summer, with the France U21 international more than capable of making an impact for a Champions League-standard team.
7. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Jarrod Bowen celebrates scoring against Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)
There’s a scenario in play where Lamine Yamal could play in the Euro 2024 final that day after he turns 17, another stark reminder of just how much your humble narrator wasted his youth.
The Barcelona wonderkid is the next great hope for club and country, becoming Spain’s youngest-ever player and goalscorer this season. An electric talent with skill and pace to burn, the fearless teenager also appears to be taking all of his achievements this season in his stride. Expect to hear plenty more about the left-footed right-winger this summer.
6. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
Leroy Sane of Bayern Munich looks on during Bayern's Champions League clash with Copenhagen (Image credit: Getty Images)
Yes, the sun is setting on the career of one of the finest players ever to lace up a pair of boots, and yes, the standard of opposition in the MLS means he no longer bothers the top ends of these kind of lists, but even as he approaches his 37th birthday, Lionel Messi remains irresistible.
Averaging almost a goal and an assist a game for Inter Miami this season, he will be Argentina’s beating heart at this summer’s Copa America. After that, we will see if he has one last dance left in him for the 2026 World Cup.
5. Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain and France)
Ousmane Dembele has had his best season for a while (Image credit: Getty Images)
Now 27, the France winger has enjoyed his best season for some time following a testing time at Barcelona when he struggled to justify his nine-figure price tag.
While Ousmane Dembele's stats won’t blow you away – nine Ligue 1 goals and three assists this term – it is his influence on Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking play that has seen him stand out for the French champions. A sublime dribbler who puts defenders on the back foot, he can be a matchwinner for France this summer in a stacked front line.
4. Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich and Germany)
Leroy Sane is key for Bayern Munich these days (Image credit: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
Bayern Munich may have endured a rare trophy-less season, but the blame won’t be placed at the door of the former Manchester City winger. Sane enjoyed another productive season at the Allianz Arena, scoring 10 goals and serving up 13 assists for Harry Kane and company, ahead of a home tournament with Germany this summer.
Yes, there have been questions asked about his temperament in recent years, but his talent is too bright to ignore for club and country.
3. Rodrygo (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Rodrygo while at the World Cup in Qatar (Image credit: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)
While the 23-year-old has everything you want from a right-winger - pace, dribbling ability and a wicked cross - he has had to adapt to more of a central position this season in order to fit into Real Madrid’s star-packed frontline. With Kylian Mbappe and Endrick on the way next season, Carlo Ancelotti’s jigsaw puzzle won’t get any easier, but the Brazil man’s talents are just too bright to ignore.
His five Champions League goals, including strikes in both legs of the quarter-final win over Manchester City, show he is a man for the big occasion and there will be more to come from him.
2. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)
Mo Salah in action for Liverpool (Image credit: Alamy)
It’s a testament to the Egyptian’s high standards that the 2023/24 campaign will go down as something of an off-year for Mohamed Salah. His tally of 18 Premier League goals was his lowest return since joining Liverpool in 2017, but that included an Africa Cup of Nations trip and subsequent hamstring injury as he missed the best part of three months.
Salah was flying before Christmas though as he explored new, more creative roles in the Liverpool side and we will see if the challenge of working under a new manager in Arne Slot will revitalise the 31-year-old next season, otherwise expect the chatter linking him to Saudi Arabia grow.
1. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal and England)
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal's starboy (Image credit: Alamy)
The eminently likeable Arsenal winger will head to Euro 2024 this summer with England coming off the best season of his career as he continues to get better and better.
Already with more than 250 appearances under his belt for club and country, Saka's drive for self-improvement and ability to respond to setbacks two qualities that set him apart from almost all of his contemporaries. He'll be desperate to make amends for the Euro 2020 penalty shootout miss this summer and few would doubt that he has the capacity to do just that.
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For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
