The best wingers of all time changed matches from wide areas through dribbling, speed, creativity, goals, and one-on-one ability. Traditional wingers such as Garrincha and Stanley Matthews often stayed close to the touchline and beat full-backs before crossing. Modern wide forwards such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo attacked inside more often and became major goalscorers. Comparing them fairly means looking beyond goals alone.
For this FootballerRank ranking, we considered players from both the right and left wings. We focused on substantial elite performances from wide attacking roles rather than using every achievement from a player’s career. Peak wing play, dribbling, creativity, scoring, major-match impact, longevity, trophies, and influence on the position all matter. Based on those criteria, Lionel Messi ranks as our greatest winger of all time.
Last reviewed: August 29, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Lionel Messi ranks as our best winger of all time.
- Cristiano Ronaldo takes second after becoming an elite scorer from the left side.
- Garrincha ranks third and has one of the strongest cases among traditional touchline wingers.
- George Best and Ronaldinho complete our top five.
- This broad ranking includes players from either flank.
- Right-wing and left-wing rankings use stricter side-specific criteria and may produce a different order.
Top 10 Best Wingers of All Time
| Rank | Player | Country | Main Wing | Winger Type | FootballerRank Rating |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Right | Inverted winger / creator | 100/100 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Left | Goalscoring wide forward | 99/100 |
| 3 | Garrincha | Brazil | Right | Traditional dribbling winger | 98/100 |
| 4 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Both | Dribbling goalscoring winger | 95/100 |
| 5 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Left | Creative wide playmaker | 94/100 |
| 6 | Luís Figo | Portugal | Right | Creative traditional winger | 92/100 |
| 7 | Francisco Gento | Spain | Left | Pace-and-crossing winger | 91/100 |
| 8 | Jairzinho | Brazil | Right | Powerful goalscoring winger | 90/100 |
| 9 | Neymar | Brazil | Left | Creative inverted winger | 89/100 |
| 10 | Arjen Robben | Netherlands | Right | Inverted goalscoring winger | 88/100 |
FootballerRank ratings are editorial scores. They are not official FIFA, UEFA, club, or Ballon d’Or ratings.
What Counts as a Winger in This Ranking?
Football positions have changed.
A winger in the 1950s often played very differently from a winger in the 2010s.
Traditional wingers normally:
- Stayed wide
- Beat full-backs
- Reached the byline
- Delivered crosses
- Stretched the defence
Modern wingers may:
- Cut inside
- Shoot more often
- Become secondary strikers
- Create from half-spaces
- Exchange positions with the centre-forward
- Press defenders
- Carry the ball during transitions
FootballerRank accepts both types.
The important rule is that a player needs substantial elite evidence from a wide attacking position.
We do not classify someone as a winger simply because he played there occasionally.
How We Avoid Cannibalization With the Right-Wing and Left-Wing Rankings
This article answers:
Who are the greatest wingers ever across either flank?
That is different from:
Who are the greatest right wingers of all time?
and:
Who are the greatest left wingers of all time?
The broad ranking compares all wide attackers against each other.
The specialist rankings will judge the player’s performance on one specific flank.
For example, Lionel Messi can appear here and in Best Right Wingers of All Time.
Cristiano Ronaldo can appear here and in Best Left Wingers of All Time.
That does not mean those articles need the same ranking order.
A side-specific ranking gives more weight to:
- Performance on that particular flank
- Positional longevity there
- Tactical responsibilities on that side
- Side-specific competition against other specialists
The broad page instead asks which winger had the greatest overall career and peak from wide attacking roles.
How We Ranked the Greatest Wingers Ever
Goals matter, but they cannot decide a winger ranking alone.
We used six factors:
| Ranking Factor | Weight | What We Considered |
| Peak wing performance | 25% | How dominant the player was from wide areas |
| Dribbling and chance creation | 20% | 1v1 ability, passing, crossing, progression |
| Goals and attacking output | 15% | Scoring while operating from the wing |
| Major-match impact | 15% | World Cups, continental tournaments and European competition |
| Longevity and consistency | 15% | Length of elite wing performance |
| Trophies and historical influence | 10% | Success and influence on the winger role |
Why We Do Not Simply Rank by Goals
Modern wide forwards score much more frequently than many traditional wingers.
That is partly tactical.
A right-footed winger playing on the right traditionally tried to create for the striker.
An inverted winger may start on the opposite flank and constantly move toward goal.
Comparing raw scoring totals without adjusting for role would unfairly favor modern wide forwards.
1. Lionel Messi
Country: Argentina
Main club: Barcelona
Main wing: Right
Winger type: Inverted winger / creator
FootballerRank Rating: 100/100
Lionel Messi ranks as our best winger of all time.
His complete career included spells as a false nine, central forward, and deeper creator.
This ranking does not use those roles as the main reason he is first.
Messi had already produced enough elite evidence as a right-sided attacker to build an exceptional winger case.
At Barcelona, he frequently began from the right before moving inside onto his stronger left foot.
That created a major problem for defenders.
Stay wide with him, and Messi could beat the full-back.
Allow him inside, and he could:
- Shoot
- Combine with midfielders
- Play through balls
- Dribble toward the penalty area
- Exchange positions with the centre-forward
His balance between scoring and creating separates him from most wide forwards.
Messi also had multiple periods as a right winger rather than one short phase.
During Barcelona’s 2014/15 treble season, the famous Messi-Suárez-Neymar attack used Messi mainly from the right, Neymar from the left, and Luis Suárez centrally.
Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and Champions League.
Messi’s ability to begin wide and still control the centre of the attack represents the modern evolution of the winger.
Why he ranks No. 1: Messi combines elite dribbling, creation, scoring, longevity, and major trophies with one of the highest peaks ever produced by a right-sided attacker.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Country: Portugal
Main clubs: Manchester United, Real Madrid
Main wing: Left
Winger type: Goalscoring wide forward
FootballerRank Rating: 99/100
Cristiano Ronaldo represents another major stage in the evolution of wing play.
His early Manchester United version looked much more like a traditional winger.
He used:
- Stepovers
- Acceleration
- Crosses
- One-on-one dribbling
- Wide runs
Over time, his game changed.
Ronaldo began making more runs inside from the left and became a much greater goalscorer.
By his peak years, he could start wide but regularly finish attacks close to goal.
That transformation helped change what teams expected from elite wingers.
At Manchester United, Ronaldo won the 2008 Ballon d’Or after helping the club win the Premier League and Champions League.
His Real Madrid career then took his scoring to another level.
He scored 451 goals in 438 competitive appearances for Madrid.
Not every one of those goals belongs to pure winger evidence because Ronaldo became increasingly central as his career developed.
We account for that.
His strongest wide-forward years still provide more than enough evidence to place him second.
Ronaldo was dangerous in several ways.
He could beat a defender, shoot from distance, attack the back post, score headers, make runs behind the defence, and finish with either foot.
Why he ranks No. 2: Ronaldo turned the left-wing role into an elite goalscoring position while combining dribbling, athletic ability, huge attacking output, and major trophies.
3. Garrincha
Country: Brazil
Main club: Botafogo
Main wing: Right
Winger type: Traditional dribbling winger
FootballerRank Rating: 98/100
If this ranking were based only on the traditional winger role, Garrincha could easily rank first.
His job was simple to understand and extremely difficult to stop.
Get the ball on the right.
Face the defender.
Beat him.
Then do it again.
Garrincha became famous for his dribbling and ability to unbalance defenders even when they knew exactly what he intended to do.
Brazil won the 1958 World Cup with Garrincha playing an important wide role.
His greatest tournament came four years later.
Pelé was injured early during the 1962 World Cup.
Garrincha became Brazil’s main attacking force.
He scored twice against England in the quarter-final and twice against host Chile in the semi-final.
Brazil went on to win another World Cup.
Garrincha’s 1962 performances became so central to the victory that the tournament is often closely associated with him.
His peak winger ability was extraordinary.
He did not have Messi’s long-term scoring and playmaking record or Ronaldo’s goalscoring volume.
But as a pure one-on-one winger, very few players have a stronger case.
Why he ranks No. 3: Garrincha combined perhaps the greatest traditional wing dribbling ever seen with a leading role in Brazil’s 1962 World Cup victory.
4. George Best
Country: Northern Ireland
Main club: Manchester United
Main wing: Both
Winger type: Dribbling goalscorer
FootballerRank Rating: 95/100
George Best played wing football with freedom.
He could operate from either side and move centrally during attacks.
Best had outstanding close control.
He could beat defenders at speed but was also dangerous in crowded areas.
His game included:
- Dribbling
- Acceleration
- Balance
- Finishing
- Creativity
- Movement
- Two-footed attacking threat
His greatest club season came in 1967/68.
Manchester United won the European Cup, becoming the first English club to do so.
Best scored in the final against Benfica as United won 4-1 after extra time.
Later that year, Best won the 1968 Ballon d’Or.
At his best, he combined the creativity of a winger with the scoring threat of a forward.
His international record cannot match players from stronger national teams.
Northern Ireland did not have Brazil’s or Argentina’s depth.
That should not be treated as a major individual weakness.
What does hurt Best slightly is longevity.
His peak did not last as long as Messi’s, Ronaldo’s, Figo’s, or Gento’s.
Why he ranks No. 4: Best combined elite two-sided dribbling with goals, creativity, European Cup success, and a Ballon d’Or-winning peak.
5. Ronaldinho
Country: Brazil
Main clubs: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan
Main wing: Left
Winger type: Creative wide playmaker
FootballerRank Rating: 94/100
Ronaldinho brought creativity and unpredictability to the left side.
He did not play like a traditional winger.
He often started from wide positions before moving inward to create.
His game included:
- Close control
- Tricks
- No-look passes
- Through balls
- Free kicks
- Long-range shooting
- Dribbling
- Combination play
At Barcelona, Ronaldinho became one of the leading players in world football.
He won FIFA’s major men’s individual award in 2004 and 2005.
He also won the 2005 Ballon d’Or.
Barcelona won La Liga in 2004/05 and again in 2005/06.
The second of those seasons also brought the Champions League.
Ronaldinho’s 2002 World Cup success adds international weight to his case.
His weakness compared with the players above him is longevity.
His absolute peak was brilliant, but it did not last as long as it could have.
At his best, however, he was one of football’s hardest wide creators to predict.
Why he ranks No. 5: Ronaldinho combined elite left-sided creativity, dribbling, scoring, major trophies, and a Ballon d’Or-winning peak.
6. Luís Figo
Country: Portugal
Main clubs: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan
Main wing: Right
Winger type: Creative traditional winger
FootballerRank Rating: 92/100
Luís Figo combined traditional wing qualities with the technical ability of a playmaker.
He was comfortable receiving the ball near the touchline.
From there, he could beat a defender or slow the attack down and find a better passing option.
Figo was especially strong at:
- Crossing
- Dribbling
- Ball protection
- Chance creation
- Combination play
- Controlling tempo from wide positions
He produced elite seasons for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.
His international performances also mattered.
Portugal reached the semi-final of EURO 2000, with Figo one of the tournament’s leading attacking players.
He won the 2000 Ballon d’Or later that year.
Figo then won FIFA’s leading men’s individual award in 2001.
With Real Madrid, he added the 2002 Champions League.
Portugal later reached the EURO 2004 final and 2006 World Cup semi-final.
Figo never reached the scoring levels of Messi or Ronaldo.
That was not his primary function.
His main value came from creating and progressing attacks from the flank.
Why he ranks No. 6: Figo combined elite wing creation with longevity, a Ballon d’Or, Champions League success, and deep international tournament runs.
7. Francisco Gento
Country: Spain
Main club: Real Madrid
Main wing: Left
Winger type: Pace-and-crossing winger
FootballerRank Rating: 91/100
Francisco Gento was one of the defining left wingers of the European Cup’s first great era.
His main weapon was pace.
Gento could stretch a defence and attack space on the left before delivering the ball into dangerous areas.
He joined Real Madrid in 1953.
The club soon entered one of the most dominant periods in European football history.
Gento became part of an attack that included players such as Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás.
His trophy record is exceptional.
Gento won six European Cups.
He remains the only player to have won the competition six times as a player.
He also played 600 official matches and scored 182 goals for Real Madrid.
Gento represented a more traditional type of winger than Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
His role focused more heavily on speed, width, crossing, and stretching the opposition.
That means raw goal comparisons would be unfair.
Why he ranks No. 7: Gento combined elite pace and traditional left-wing play with unmatched European Cup success and remarkable longevity at Real Madrid.
8. Jairzinho
Country: Brazil
Main club: Botafogo
Main wing: Right
Winger type: Powerful goalscoring winger
FootballerRank Rating: 90/100
Jairzinho offered a different right-wing threat from Garrincha.
Garrincha relied more on quick changes of direction and repeated one-on-one dribbling.
Jairzinho added greater power.
His combination of pace, strength, and direct running made him extremely difficult to stop once he had space.
The 1970 World Cup defines his international legacy.
Brazil won all six of its matches.
Jairzinho scored seven goals.
More remarkably, he scored in every match Brazil played during the tournament.
No other player has matched that achievement across a six-match World Cup-winning campaign.
He was officially a right winger, wearing Brazil’s No. 7 shirt.
But the 1970 team was highly fluid.
Jairzinho moved inside into central scoring positions and occasionally switched across the attack.
That makes him an early example of the goalscoring winger.
He was not simply providing crosses.
He was expected to finish attacks as well.
Why he ranks No. 8: Jairzinho combined traditional right-wing power with elite goalscoring, highlighted by seven goals across every match of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup victory.
9. Neymar
Country: Brazil
Main clubs: Santos, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain
Main wing: Left
Winger type: Creative inverted winger
FootballerRank Rating: 89/100
Neymar became one of the finest left-sided attackers of the modern era.
His greatest strength was his ability to combine individual creation with team play.
Neymar could beat a defender in isolation, but he did not need to hold the ball constantly.
He could also make quick combinations around the penalty area.
His main qualities included:
- Dribbling
- Close control
- Acceleration
- Creativity
- Finishing
- Passing
- Set pieces
- Movement inside from the left
Neymar won the 2011 Copa Libertadores with Santos.
He then joined Barcelona.
His strongest European season came in 2014/15.
Barcelona won the treble.
Neymar scored important Champions League knockout goals and also scored in the final against Juventus.
The Messi-Suárez-Neymar front three became one of the strongest attacks of its era.
Neymar later moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record transfer fee.
His peak ability belongs higher than ninth.
Injuries and periods of reduced availability hurt his longevity and consistency score compared with the players above him.
Why he ranks No. 9: Neymar combined elite dribbling, creativity, goals, Libertadores success, and a Champions League-winning left-wing peak.
10. Arjen Robben
Country: Netherlands
Main clubs: Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich
Main wing: Right
Winger type: Inverted goalscoring winger
FootballerRank Rating: 88/100
Arjen Robben became famous for one move.
Defenders knew what was coming.
Stopping it was another matter.
Robben usually received the ball on the right.
He then moved inside onto his stronger left foot and attacked the penalty area.
That pattern produced goals for years.
His acceleration was especially dangerous because he could create separation over a very short distance.
Robben also played at elite clubs in England, Spain, and Germany.
His greatest period came with Bayern Munich.
The biggest moment arrived in the 2013 Champions League final.
Bayern faced Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
With the score level late in the match, Robben scored the winning goal.
Bayern completed a historic treble that season.
Robben also had a major international career.
The Netherlands reached the 2010 World Cup final and finished third in 2014.
His longevity as an elite right-sided threat gives him the final place.
Why he ranks No. 10: Robben turned the inverted right-wing role into a repeatable elite weapon while adding Champions League success and major international performances.
Who Is the Best Winger of All Time?
Lionel Messi is the best winger of all time in our ranking.
His case rests on what he achieved while operating from the right, not simply on everything he later achieved in central positions.
Messi combined qualities that are rarely found together.
He could beat defenders like a traditional winger.
He could create like an attacking midfielder.
He could score like an elite forward.
Cristiano Ronaldo provides the strongest challenge because he transformed left-wing play into a high-volume goalscoring role.
Garrincha has perhaps the strongest case if someone defines a winger in the traditional sense of a player whose primary job is to dominate the flank through dribbling.
That difference in definitions is one reason this debate remains interesting.
Messi vs Ronaldo vs Garrincha as Wingers
The top three represent different eras and styles.
| Area | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo | Garrincha |
| Main side | Right | Left | Right |
| Dribbling | Elite | Elite at peak | Elite |
| Creativity | Elite | Very good | Excellent |
| Goalscoring | Elite | Elite | Good |
| Crossing | Very good | Very good | Elite |
| Inside threat | Elite | Elite | Very good |
| Traditional touchline play | Very good | Good | Elite |
| Major tournament impact | Excellent | Excellent | Elite |
Messi gives the strongest balance.
Ronaldo gives the greatest scoring threat from a wide starting role.
Garrincha gives the strongest traditional winger case.
Traditional Wingers vs Modern Wingers
The winger role has changed more than most attacking positions.
Traditional wingers
Traditional wingers usually played on the same side as their stronger foot.
A right-footed player would often play on the right.
The aim was to beat the full-back and cross.
Garrincha, Gento, and Matthews represent different versions of this approach.
Inverted wingers
An inverted winger plays on the opposite flank.
A left-footed player may start from the right.
That makes it easier to cut inside and shoot.
Robben became one of the clearest examples.
Goalscoring wide forwards
Cristiano Ronaldo pushed the role even further.
Wide forwards began attacking the penalty area almost like second strikers.
Their scoring output became a major part of the position.
Wide playmakers
Messi, Ronaldinho, and Neymar showed how wingers could also become major creators.
They could begin wide before controlling attacks from more central positions.
These changes make era adjustment essential.
Who Was the Greatest Traditional Winger?
If we remove modern inverted forwards and judge the classic winger role, Garrincha has our strongest case.
His one-on-one dribbling was central to his game.
He stayed wide enough to stretch the opposition but could still enter scoring areas.
His 1962 World Cup also gives him major tournament evidence.
Stanley Matthews, Francisco Gento, and Luís Figo are other major traditional-wing candidates.
Who Just Missed the Top 10?
The hardest omission is Stanley Matthews.
Matthews became the first Ballon d’Or winner in 1956.
His career also had extraordinary longevity.
He remained a top-level footballer long after most players of his era had retired.
His style was built around traditional right-wing dribbling and crossing.
He narrowly misses because the final places include players with stronger combinations of major international impact, European club success, or modern elite scoring.
Other strong candidates include:
- Stanley Matthews
- Ryan Giggs
- Franck Ribéry
- Mohamed Salah
- Hristo Stoichkov
- Rivelino
- Dragan Džajić
- Pavel Nedvěd
- John Barnes
- Eden Hazard
Different definitions of the winger role can reasonably change the final few places.
FAQs
Who are the top three wingers of all time?
Our top three are Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Garrincha. Messi offers the strongest combination of dribbling, creativity, and scoring, while Ronaldo and Garrincha represent very different versions of elite wing play.
Is Messi the greatest winger ever?
Yes, in our broad winger ranking. His right-sided performances provide enough elite evidence to rank first even without relying heavily on his false-nine or central-playmaker years.
Is Cristiano Ronaldo a winger or striker?
Cristiano Ronaldo performed both types of roles during his career. His early and peak years included substantial left-wing evidence, while he became increasingly central later. Only his relevant wide-attacking evidence receives full weight here.
Was Garrincha better than Messi as a pure winger?
Garrincha has a very strong case if the question is limited to the traditional touchline winger role. Messi ranks higher in our broader definition because he combined elite wing play with much greater scoring and creative output.
Who is the greatest right winger of all time?
That question has its own dedicated ranking. Messi and Garrincha will both have strong cases, but the order will be based only on right-wing evidence rather than this broader winger methodology.
Who is the greatest left winger of all time?
That will be answered separately in Best Left Wingers of All Time. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Gento, and Neymar are among the major candidates.
Why is Pelé not included?
Pelé was a broader central forward and attacking creator rather than a winger. He belongs much more naturally in our overall footballer and forward discussions.
Why is Maradona not included?
Maradona primarily operated as an attacking midfielder, No. 10, or second forward. Playing in wider areas occasionally is not enough to qualify him as one of our historical winger specialists.
Why is Neymar only No. 9?
Neymar’s peak wing ability was higher than ninth-place quality. Injuries and availability reduce his longevity score compared with several players above him.
Why is Stanley Matthews outside the Top 10?
Matthews is one of football’s greatest traditional wingers and the first Ballon d’Or winner. He narrowly misses because the final places contain players with stronger combinations of major international, European, and goalscoring evidence.
Can the same player appear in the right-wing or left-wing rankings?
Yes. Player overlap does not mean the articles have the same search intent.
This ranking compares both sides together.
The right-wing page will rank only right-sided evidence.
The left-wing page will rank only left-sided evidence.
Are wing-backs included?
No. Wing-backs have greater defensive responsibility and belong more naturally within our full-back and defender structure.
Sources and Fact-Checking
FootballerRank uses research-based editorial rankings rather than goals, trophies, or popularity alone.
For this article, we checked historical World Cup records, European competition records, Ballon d’Or history, official club records, major international tournaments, and documented playing positions.
Position eligibility was particularly important.
Players needed substantial evidence as wide attackers.
We also separated a player’s winger evidence from later years spent mainly as a central striker, false nine, or attacking midfielder.
This keeps the article focused on the search intent Best Wingers of All Time rather than turning it into another general Best Football Players ranking.
Conclusion
Lionel Messi ranks as our best winger of all time because his elite right-sided years combined dribbling, chance creation, scoring, longevity, and major trophies at an exceptional level. Cristiano Ronaldo follows after transforming the left wing into a high-volume goalscoring role, while Garrincha remains our strongest traditional-wing benchmark. George Best, Ronaldinho, Figo, Gento, Jairzinho, Neymar, and Robben complete a Top 10 covering several generations and very different interpretations of wide attacking football. By comparing both flanks here while reserving stricter side-specific analysis for the right-wing and left-wing rankings, FootballerRank can answer each search intent without repeating the same article.
