Football
The Top 10 Best Left Wingers in the World
The best flying left wingers are goal-scoring wizards. These touchline magicians thrilled the crowds in 2024 and are the top 10 best left wingers in world football.
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The left-wing position has evolved from the traditional wide-midfielder role of the 1990s to the mid-2000s. Football tactics and formations have changed. Wingers play as attacking forwards and are expected to contribute more goals. Gone are the days of only providing width and crosses for bulky target-men in the box in traditional 4-4-2 and 4-5-1 formations.
Wingers play in various positions in modern football. Their job is further up the field, either side of a single striker or false nine in a 4-3-3 set-up. Wingers play a similar role within the defensive 4-2-3-1 formation. However, an attacking midfielder or No 10. is playing in the hole to add creativity.
Wingers have more attacking responsibility than yesteryear. Players in these new-defined positions are expected to score double-digit goals and assists. The best wingers score 20+ goals a season and provide almost similar assists. Mohamed Salah is the best right winger in the world. He rejoined the English Premier League when he signed for Liverpool Football Club in 2017.
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Salah is one of the best players in the world, scoring goals and tearing defences apart as Liverpool conquered the world. The best left winger in the world is not as clear-cut as the opposite side of the field, where some stars alternate positions rather than play as a defined left winger.
Vinícius Júnior, Luis Díaz, Rafael Leão, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Gabriel Martinelli, Nico Williams, and Anthony Gordon are all fabulous left wingers in Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues. Vini Jr., Díaz, and Martinelli are all dazzling at the CONMEBOL Copa América in the United States. Leão, Kvaratskhelia, and Gordon are all at the UEFA European Championship in Germany.
Several world-class players alternate between left wing, attacking midfielder, and striker, so they are not classified as left wingers. Cristiano Ronaldo, Phil Foden, Diogo Jota, Kylian Mbappe, Dušan Tadić, Cody Gakpo, and Son Heung-min are attacking forwards switching positions by their managers for tactical reasons. SportsBoom decided to rank the top 10 best left wingers in the world: See who came out on top?
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Who are the Best Left Wingers in World Football in 2024?
Vinícius Júnior is the best left winger in the world. The Brazilian playmaker starred as Real Madrid claimed their 36th La Liga title and fifteenth UEFA Champions League crown. He is the top-scoring left winger. He has 26 goals and 11 assists for club and country, the most by any winger in world football. Vini Jr. is one of the favourites for this year’s Ballon d’Or. The only winger with the Brazilian’s output is Mo Salah.
Salah is the best right wing in the world and has been for the last eight years. He ended the 2023/24 season with 25 goals and 14 assists. Júnior overtook Salah’s goals playing in the 2024 Copa América. A surprise on the top 10 best left wingers in the world list is Real Sociedad captain Mikel Oyarzabal. The Basque playmaker has notched 18 goals, two more than Leão. Both players are at Euro 2024 with Spain and Portugal and should increase their tallies.
Who are the Best Left Wingers in World Football in 2024?
| Rank | Player | Club | Country | Goals/Assists | Minutes |
| 1 | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | Brazil | 26 (11) | 3,571 |
| 2 | Mikel Oyarzabal | Real Sociedad | Spain | 18 (4) | 3,297 |
| 3 | Rafael Leão | AC Milan | Portugal | 16 (12) | 3,913 |
| 4 | Luis Díaz | Liverpool | Colombia | 15 (8) | 4,145 |
| 5 | Anthony Gordon | Newcastle United | England | 12 (10) | 3,988 |
| 6 | Khvicha Kvaratskhelia | Napoli | Georgia | 12 (8) | 4,017 |
| 7 | Raheem Sterling | Chelsea | England | 10 (8) | 2,759 |
| 8 | Federico Chiesa | Juventus | Italy | 10 (3) | 2,963 |
| 9 | Nico Williams | Athletic Club | Spain | 9 (18) | 3,115 |
| 10 | Gabriel Martinelli | Arsenal | Brazil | 9 (5) | 2,716 |
*List includes club and international goals **Stats accurate as of 03/07/2024
Díaz, who had a mixed season at Liverpool, is playing for Colombia at the South American championship. Díaz (15 goals) is the fourth-highest scorer among left wingers, three ahead of Gordon and Kvaratskhelia. Gordon had a good season at Newcastle United but cannot get much game-time for England. Kvaratskhelia, on the other hand, has starred for Napoli and Georgia. He was one of the best players at the Euros.
Gordon and Kvaratskhelia will also have more opportunities to increase their goals and assist numbers during the knockout stages of Euro 2024. Another surprise player on the charts is Raheem Sterling. He had a sub-par campaign with Chelsea, but he found some form by the end of the season. Sterling did not, however, make the England squad that travelled to Germany.
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Lastly, Federico Chiesa, Nico Williams, and Gabriel Martinelli make up the rest of the top 10 best left wingers in the world. Chiesa managed double-digit goals, but Williams and Martinelli are level on nine goals with matches still to play. Williams had an incredible season with Athletic Club.
He was instrumental in Bilboa winning the 2023/24 Copa del Rey. Martinelli, like Sterling, had a forgettable domestic campaign. However, form is temporary, and class is permanent, which means the Martinelli is one of SportsBoom’s best left wingers in the world.
Image Credits: Maider Goikoetxea
FAQs
Lionel Messi is the highest scorer in La Liga history. Messi scored 445 goals in 520 games for Barcelona.
Unai Simón is rated the best goalkeeper in La Liga in 2024. Simón won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the best goals-to-game ratio.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.