The Top 15 Best Right Wingers in the World

The right-wing position evolved from the traditional attacking wide midfielder of the 1990s to the mid-2000s. The game changed drastically, especially in formation, tactics, and style of play. Mohamed Salah is the best right-winger in the world, and he has been since he rejoined the English Premier League (EPL) with Liverpool Football Club in 2017.

The Liverpool frontman was one of the best players in the Premier League until he got injured playing for Egypt at the CAF African Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the start of 2024. Salah struggled with form and fitness but ended the season as the highest-scoring winger in the English top flight with 18 goals from 32 matches, and the highest-scoring winger in the world, with 30 goals.

Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen finished behind the Egyptian. Saka and Bowen scored 16 goals, two fewer than Salah, but they played more minutes. Lionel Messi began on the right wing before moving centrally to a false nine by Pep Guardiola. He played centrally for most of his Barcelona career. Messi, however, is sometimes deployed on the right side of Inter Miami’s front three. This enters him into contention for the best winger in the world, but only for his goals as a wideman. 

Messi is considered the greatest footballer of all time, but he cannot be considered the best right-winger. Salah took attacking wing play to another level, and he is still considered the best right-winger in world football, and his stats prove this. Nevertheless, we at SportsBoom wanted to know who the rest of the best right-wingers in the world currently are. 

Mohamed Salah//Getty Images

Who are the Best Right-Wingers in World Football in 2024?

Mohamed Salah is the best right-winger in world football. Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen, Rodrygo, and Ángel Di María are the next five best right-wingers in the world, based on goals and assists. Lionel Messi ranks sixth because most of his goals come as a false nine or second striker. 

The position of the right-winger is different in modern football from two decades ago. In the 1980s and 1990s, managers played with more traditional wingers in a 4-4-2, 4-1-41, 3-5-2, 4-5-1 systems. Touchline-hugging wingers flew up and down the field, sending in crosses for the big target men, the No. 9s looking to get their head on the ball. 

Football changed when Pep Guardiola opted for small, technically gifted midfielders. They controlled possession and passed through the lines to a false nine. Either side of the false nine roamed two attacking wide forwards with a nose for goal. Spain and Barcelona used the 4-3-3, 3-4-3 better than anyone. Innovation often creates imitation, and many coaches and clubs tried to emulate Guardiola’s “Tiki-Taka” style. 

Ángel di María//Getty Images

Gone are the days of David Beckham-style right-sided players in a 4-4-2. Tactical set-ups are 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, with goal-scoring wide-men running rampant on the touchline, cutting inside to create chances or score goals. The best right-wingers in 2024 are an array of attacking widemen. Jeremie Frimpong, Salah, and Messi play dissimilar roles in the same position. Saka is the best young right-winger in the Premier League right now, but he has a long way to go to overtake the Egyptian superstar.

Many coaches used to attack wide men in a 4-2-3-1, with an old-style No. 10 in the hole to create in the middle and send the ball wide. These three formations and tactics are the most used by managers. These formations have led to the attacking wide forwards we see today. Salah is the best exponent of a winger becoming an attacking wide forward. 

Salah went from a low output of goals to a goal machine at Liverpool. Frimpong, a right wing-back for Bayer Leverkusen, is another goal-scoring threat from the right wing, but not in a traditional sense because he is a hybrid attacker and defender. Di María has aged like a fine wine while winning international trophies at every turn. Rodrygo, like Saka, is one of a limited number of players competing for the Egyptian King’s throne.

1. Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Egypt

Mohamed Salah topped the 2023/24 charts for the highest-scoring winger in the world. Salah outscored the second-highest-scoring winger, and Ballon d’Or favourite, Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian is, however, a left-winger. Despite Salah being the only winger in the world to score 30 goals in the 2023/24 season, he was mysteriously left off the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominations.

He scored the most goals and contributed the second-most assists of all the top 10 right-wingers and left-wingers in world football in 2024. He scored 30 goals, with 17 assists from 52 matches. Salah has started the 2024/25 season on fire. He has netted seven goals, with six assists in 11 games for Liverpool, more than any player in Europe’s “Big five” leagues. 

He has three goals and an assist in five matches for Egypt. No other attacking wide player or winger can match the Egyptian, who is without a doubt, one of the greatest right-wingers of all time.

2. Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | England

Bukayo Saka has had two superb seasons for Arsenal. He has firmly established himself as the second-best right-winger in England behind Salah. Saka played 56 matches, four more games than Salah in the 2023/24 season. The Arsenal forward scored fewer goals and had fewer assists. Moreover, Saka had a poor UEFA European Championship (Euros). He only scored one goal, and he provided one assist in seven games.

Saka had a statistically inferior season compared with Salah and did not win a major trophy despite playing for two of the best teams. Salah played in a Liverpool team in transition that was hampered by major injuries throughout the season.

The 23-year-old began the 2024/25 season with three goals and seven assists for the Gunners. He also has no goals or assists in three UEFA Nations League matches. When comparing Salah’s and Saka’s 2024 record, and start to the new season, the Golden Ball nomination process is a farce. Saka has three goals and seven assists after ten matches in 2024/25. 

Bukayo Saka//Getty Images

3. Jarrod Bowen | West Ham United | England

Jarrod Bowen is the surprise name of the best right-wingers’ list. The West Ham United playmaker had a superb 2023/24 season. He registered 20 goals and 10 assists for the Hammers. Bowen’s goal involvements make him the third-best right-winger in the Premier League, statistically. He has three goals and two assists in ten games for West Ham across all competitions in the new season.

4. Rodrygo | Real Madrid | Brazil

Rodrygo is coming into his prime. He has won multiple La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid. His goals have increased, putting the Brazilian right-winger in the conversation for the best young right-winger in world football. The 23-year-old did not, however, get nominated for the Ballon d’Or despite being one of the highest-scoring wingers in 2024. He has three goals and two assists in 13 games for Madrid in the 2024/25 season.

Lamine Yamal received a nomination for his European Championship heroics with Spain. Yamal is, however, nowhere near Rodrygo as a goal-scorer. The Brazilian (19) scored more than double the goals of the Spaniard (8) but was left off the Golden Ball nominations. This only reaffirms the flawed nomination process. Rodrygo is statistically the best South American right-winger in 2024.

5. Ángel Di María | Benfica | Argentina

Ángel Di María had an outstanding campaign for Benfica, and he helped Argentina win the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América. He is one of the greatest Argentina players, behind Messi and Maradona. He scored 17 goals, with 15 assists, for Benfica. Di María did not set the South American Championship alight (one Assist). But he was pivotal in Argentina defending their 2021 Copa América title. Despite being in the twilight of an incredible career, Di María is the second-best South American right-winger. He has two goals and an assist in eight matches this campaign. 

Lionel Messi//Getty Images

6. Lionel Messi | Inter Miami 

Lionel Messi is the greatest football player. He has scored the second-most goals in football history. Messi is not, however, a traditional right-winger. He played as a second striker at the 2024 Copa América, scoring all his goals from this position. The Argentine sometimes plays on the right wing for Miami, but he plays mainly as a second striker. He led Inter Miami to the Supporters’ Shield after his first MLS hat-trick against New England Revolution. Messi has 20 goals and 16 assists in only 19 of the 34 league matches. However, Messi scored 16 goals from the right-wing, with ten assists in 15 matches. 

7. Jeremie Frimpong | Bayer Leverkusen | Netherlands

Jeremie Frimpong is the dark horse of all the right-wingers in the world right now. He had a superb domestic campaign with Bayer Leverkusen, who lost one match on the way to winning the Bundesliga and German Cup double. The 23-year-old flyer plays many positions. as a right wing-back, right midfielder, right-winger, and once as an attacking midfielder. 

Like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Frimpong is a versatile playmaker. He is the only wing-back/right-winger to make this list of elite players. He scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists for Leverkusen. However, the Dutch playmaker faded near the end of a long season. He did not add any goals or assists for Germany at a disappointing EURO 2024. Frimpong has one goal and five assists after 11 games this season.

8. Leroy Sané | Bayern Munich | Germany

Leroy Sané scored 12 goals and had 15 assists for Bayern Munich and Germany. Like his right-wing competitor Frimpong, the 28-year-old underwhelmed at EURO 2024. He did not have any goal involvement at the EUROS. Sané only started two games and came off the bench three times. The Munich winger has had a slow start to the new Bundesliga season, scoring once, with no assists.

9. Michael Olise | Crystal Palace / Bayern Munich | France

Michael Olise is a rising star. He scored twice and added 11 assists for Crystal Palace in 2022/23. However, he had a fantastic 2023/24 season in London. The 22-year-old scored 10 goals and provided six assists for Palace in all competitions. Moreover, the French flyer was one of the best players at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

He scored two goals and had five assists in six Olympic matches, as France claimed an Olympic silver medal. Olise scored and assisted in five of the six games, including a goal in the semi-final versus Egypt, and an assist in the Olympic final defeat on penalties to Spain. His superb English Premier League form saw him nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year. 

Furthermore, Olise’s outstanding Olympic Games saw a fifty million pound move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. In September 2024, France's national coach Didier Deschamps called him up to the national team. Olise has since played three times for France in the 2024 UEFA Nations League. 

Olise is currently ranked as the fifth-most valuable right-winger by Transfermarkt. He has started the season in fine form, scoring six times in ten games, with three assists. The Bayern winger is one to watch this season. It will not be long until he cements himself in the France national team. 

10. Bryan Mbeumo | Brentford | Cameroon

Bryan Mbeumo can play across the forward line, but he plays mostly on the right. He had a fantastic 2023/24 season with Brentford. He scored nine times and provided six assists. He added three goals for Cameroon. Mbeumo has started the new season with six goals in eight games for the Bees.  

11. Raphinha | Barcelona | Brazil

Raphinha scored 11 goals and added 15 assists in 2023/24. He only scored once at the Copa América, as Brazil crashed out 4-2 on penalties to Uruguay. Raphinha, however, began the new season with a bang. He has bagged six goals and eight assists in 12 games for Barcelona. The Brazilian has been deployed on the left wing this season because of the rise of Lamine Yamal.

12. Takefusa Kubo | Real Sociedad | Japan

Takefusa Kubo is dubbed the “Japanese Messi” by football supporters because of his attacking flair and his eye for goal. He was a 2020/21 UEFA Europa League winner with Villarreal before moving to Real Sociedad. 

Kubo scored seven times, with five assists, for Sociedad across all competitions in 2023/24. He scored twice, adding eight assists in nine matches for Japan. Kubo has had a slow start to the new campaign, netting twice in 11 games without any assists. He is the best Asian right-winger and the highest-valued Japanese player by Transfermarkt.

13. Lamine Yamal | Barcelona | Spain

Lamine Yamal is the most exciting young player in world football right now. He etched his name in history when he scored a stunning curling goal outside the 18-yard area for Spain against France in the EURO 2024 semi-final. La Roja beat England 2-1 in the final in Berlin, and Yamal assisted  Nico Williams’ goal to be named Young Player of the Tournament. Yamal has five goals and six assists in 12 games for Barcelona in 2024/25.

Yamal made his senior debut at 16 years and 57 days old against Cyprus in September 2023, scoring in the 7-1 victory. He became the youngest player and goal-scorer for Spain. The 17-year-old became the youngest goal-scorer in a Euro qualifying match.

The Barcelona winger made his debut in the European Championship against Croatia. He was the youngest player to play in the tournament (16 years, 338 days), and the youngest player to provide an assist. In the Round of 16 match against Georgia, he added another assist as he became the youngest player to feature in the knockout phase. 

Lamine Yamal//Getty Images

The young prodigy set up a crucial assist against Germany in a 2–1 quarter-final win. This feat tied a Spanish record of three assists in the same EURO tournament. He scored Spain’s first goal in the 2–1 semi-final victory over France. The wonder strike saw him become the youngest scorer in European Championship history. Moreover, his strike was voted ‘Goal of the Tournament’.

Furthermore, Yamal was named ‘Young Player of the Tournament’ and became the youngest player to win the European Championship. He assisted left-winger Nico Williams for the first goal, which made him the youngest player with a goal involvement in a major tournament final. Yamal’s four assists made him the joint-holder for the most at a European Championship. He is the future.

14. Dejan Kulusevski | Tottenham Hotspur | Sweden

Dejan Kulusevski had another good season with Tottenham Hotspur, but nothing extraordinary. The Sweden playmaker scored eight times and added three goals for Spurs. Kulusevski plays across the forward line, including in an attacking midfield role when needed. He plays most of his EPL matches on the right wing, where he has scored half his goals. Tottenham has started the new season inconsistently, and the Swede has only registered two goals and two assists in 11 matches.

15. Ousmane Dembélé | Paris Saint-Germain | France

Ousmane Dembélé is a two-footed right-winger, with more than 50 caps for France. Dembélé was a bit-part player in France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, and he played in every game of France’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar. He has played for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, winning trophies at Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain, including three La Liga, and one Ligue 1 championship. 

Dembélé did not set the world on fire in the 2023/24 season. He only found the back of the net six times for PSG. He did, however, set up 15 goals, the equal third-most by a right-winger in world football. The 27-year-old has started the new season in sublime form, scoring four goals, and providing five assists in nine matches for PSG. He has scored once for France this season. He is ranked sixth in value by Transfermarkt. 

Mohamed Salah//Getty Images