Best Wingers of All Time — Ranked by Card
Garrincha and George Best share the top of this list at 95 — two players whose entire value was the twenty metres between the touchline and the byline, and who were the best in the world at it a decade apart. Below is the top twelve, how wingers are rated when the game only has three positions, and who the absent pools would add.
The top twelve wingers
| Score | Legend | Pool | Era |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | Garrincha | Brazil | 1955–1966 |
| 95 | George Best | Man United | 1963–1974 |
| 94 | Ryan Giggs | Man United | 1990–2014 |
| 94 | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 2003–2008 |
| 91 | Abedi Pelé | Marseille | 1987–1993 |
| 90 | Jairzinho | Brazil | 1964–1974 |
| 90 | Rivelino | Brazil | 1965–1978 |
| 90 | Neymar | Barcelona | 2013–2017 |
| 88 | Robert Pirès | Arsenal | 2000–2006 |
| 87 | Stanley Matthews | England | 1934–1957 |
| 87 | Ángel Di María | PSG | 2015–2022 |
| 87 | Chris Waddle | Marseille | 1989–1992 |
Cristiano Ronaldo began as a winger and isn’t on this list — his 98 card covers the Real Madrid years, by which point he was a centre-forward in everything but name.
How wingers are rated
Vikto uses three positions, not eleven, so wingers appear as attackers — or as midfielders when their career was spent deeper, which is why Giggs and Rivelino sit in the midfield pools.
Within that, the impact score is position-normalised: a winger is measured on goals and the chances created for the people around them, which is the only fair way to rate a player whose best season might be eight goals and twenty assists. Garrincha’s rating would collapse under a pure goals metric and is near the top under this one.
The other two components apply unchanged. Honours out of 40, and global recognition out of 20 — the component that keeps Stanley Matthews in the top twelve seventy years after he stopped playing.
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Why Garrincha leads
Because for one tournament he was better than Pelé, and everybody who was there says so. Brazil won the 1962 World Cup with Pelé injured after the second game, and Garrincha carried it — four goals, the semi-final destroyed almost single-handedly, and a dribble that defenders knew was coming and still couldn’t stop.
The famous detail is the physical one: a right leg bent outward and a left leg six centimetres shorter, which produced a body swerve nobody could read. Brazil lost only once in the sixty-plus matches he and Pelé both started.
Best’s 95 rests on a different case — a Ballon d’Or, a European Cup, and 179 goals from a wide position in an era when defenders were allowed to foul in ways that would now be criminal.
Where the pool runs deep
Brazil, by a distance. Garrincha, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Neymar are all rated 89 or higher, which makes a Brazil attacking match the most winger-heavy deck in the game.
The Premier League pools are the other strong ones — Best, Giggs and Pirès — while the absent pools are the ones that would reshape the middle. No Netherlands means no Marc Overmars in his prime or Arjen Robben; no Portugal means no Figo; no Italy means no Donadoni or Mancini.
Bidding on a winger
Wingers are the position where base score misleads most, because so much of what they do is invisible to a single number — and in a Vikto match, only the number duels.
The practical consequence: a 90-rated winger and a 90-rated centre-forward are worth exactly the same in a duel, so pay for the score, not the reputation. The place to find value is the era boost. Garrincha’s card sits in the 1960s and Neymar’s in the 2010s — in a Brazil match set in either decade, one of them is worth 15% more than the sticker price and the other isn’t.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the best winger of all time?
Vikto rates Garrincha and George Best level at 95, both Icon tier. Garrincha’s case is the 1962 World Cup; Best’s is a Ballon d’Or and a European Cup.
Why isn’t Cristiano Ronaldo on the list?
His card covers the Real Madrid years, when he played as a centre-forward. He’s rated 98 as an attacker.
Are wingers attackers or midfielders in Vikto?
Both, depending on where the career was spent. The game uses three positions, so a deep-lying winger like Giggs is rated among midfielders.
Who is the best dribbler of all time?
On this scale, Garrincha — the rating rewards chances created as well as goals, which is where dribblers earn their score.
Which pool has the most wingers?
Brazil, with four rated 89 or above.
More rankings: best strikers of all time, best midfielders of all time, best soccer players of all time. Every pool on the legends hub.
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