The Top 10 Best Right Wingers In The World

The right-wing position has 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 has been since he rejoined the English Premier League 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.

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 that position for his entire Barcelona career. Messi, however, is now deployed on the right side of Inter Miami front three. This enters him into contention for the best winger in the world.

Messi is considered the greatest footballer of all time, but he cannot be considered the best right winger of all time, or even this season. 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. 

Who are the best Right Wingers in World Football in 2024?

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 Guardiola opted for small, technically gifted midfielders. These midfielders were the best in the world. 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. 

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 in world football. These formations have led to the attacking wide forwards we see today. Mo 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. Saka has had two superb seasons for Arsenal. He has established himself as the second-best right winger in England. Jeremie 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. 

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 wide men. Salah, Messi and Frimpong, play dissimilar roles in the same position. Saka is the best young winger in the world, but he has a long way to go to overtake the ‘Egyptian King.’

Salah tops the charts. He scored the most goals and contributed the third-most assists out of the top 10 right wingers in Europe. He scored 25 goals, with 14 assists from 45 matches. Saka played five more games than Salah. He scored fewer goals and had fewer assists. Saka has time to add to his tally at the 2024 UEFA European Championship (Euros) with England.

The surprise entrant is Bowen. The West Ham United playmaker had a superb season. He registered 20 goals and 10 assists while only playing 63 minutes more than Saka. Ángel Di María is aging like a fine wine. He had an outstanding campaign for Benfica. Di María should improve his tally with Argentina at the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América. 

Rodrygo and Messi are also at the Copa América, where the goals and assists will rise. The Brazilian edges the little maestro, but the Argentina legend will overtake Rodrygo, Di María, and Bowen during the South American championship. Frimpong is the dark horse of all the right wingers in the world.

The Dutch flyer players as a wing-back for Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. He is the only wing-back to make this list of elite players. Frimpong is also in Germany for the Euros and will surely add to his goals and assists. Leroy Sané and Raphinha each have 10 goals.