To describe someone as one of the best left-backs in the world used to be damning them with faint praise.
Left-back used to be where you'd stick the worst player on the team. No left foot? No problem; left-back was the spot for anyone who didn't have a specific job. Boy, have things changed. Left-backs these days are multifunctional footballers capable of providing stability and creativity.
They're just as valuable a member of anyone else and these days, some of the best footballers on Earth are tasked with holding down the position.
How our experts decided the best left-backs in the world
FourFourTwo approached a cross-section of football experts for this one, asking for their 10 favourite left-backs on the planet right now.
We wanted to produce a list that was not just reflective of the current state of the role but who's ruled the roost at left-back over the last two or three seasons, asking our experts to pick based on ability, form and standing over the past few seasons, whether the player is an overlapper or inverter.
Players ranked first by an expert were given 10 whole points, second-placed players given nine, and so on, with overall scores aggregated at the end of voting. Just 15 players made the cut, with the 10 forming our list and the other five having to settle for an honourable mention.
This list is refreshed every three months to accurately convey the role of the left-back, along with nine other positions across the pitch. We have lists on the best goalkeepers, defenders (that's right-backs, centre-backs and left-backs, of course) midfield (defensive midfielders, central midfielders and attacking midfielders), and attack (right-wingers, left-wingers and strikers). Judgement calls are made on players who play in multiple positions, while we even have a list of the best players in the world right now of any role.
Honourable mentions
Honourable mentions
The full list
10. Antonee Robinson
Age: 27
Club: Fulham
Nationality: United States
Robinson’s work has brought out the best of Alex Iwobi.
Antonee Robinson hasn’t always looked quite so assured at Fulham. In an ever-changing landscape of left-backs in which some invert and others stay back, however, the United States international has easily been the standout performer at Craven Cottage this season for his old-school bombs down the left flank.
Robinson’s work has brought out the best of Alex Iwobi and kept Marco Silva’s Whites competitive in the top half of the table. Having captained Fulham too now, Robinson is rapidly emerging as a leader who’s shown his class in big clashes this season against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool.
9. Lucas Hernandez
Age: 29
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Nationality: France
Lucas Hernandez’s 2023/24 season ended with a torn ACL in Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Borussia Dortmund, and with it went his hopes of playing alongside his brother Theo at Euro 2024.
But the elder Hernandez brother has been able to work his way back to full fitness and returned to the PSG team before Christmas as he looks to build on what had been a solid first season in the French capital before injury struck last year.
8. Marc Cucurella
Age: 26
Club: Chelsea
Nationality: Spain
For a while it looked like Marc Cucurella’s £62 million move to Chelsea was a Brighton masterstroke for the sellers, as the fourth-most expensive Spaniard ever endured a tough start to life at Stamford Bridge, in what was a time of huge transition for the club.
The 26-year-old was even subject to boos from sections of the Chelsea fanbase, but over the past 12 months he has turned it around in style, with his impressive performances from the Blues seeing him break into the Spain side, culminating in him providing the assist for Mikel Oyarzabal’s winning goal against England in the Euro 2024 final. He is now gelling under Enzo Maresca and the boo-boys can be considered silenced.
7. Federico Dimarco
Age: 27
Club: Inter Milan
Nationality: Italy
The Inter Milan and Italy left-back looks to be hitting his peak years and there are few more thrilling sights in Serie A than a pinpoint Dimarco cross or shot.
The 27-year-old claimed his first Serie A winners’ medal last season and if Inter are able to see off the challenge of Antonio Conte’s Napoli in the coming weeks, the play of the technically gifted defender will no doubt be a key reason why.
6. Ferland Mendy
Age: 29
Club: Real Madrid
Nationality: France
Proving that you don’t need to be a Galatico to be one of Real Madrid’s best players, Ferland Mendy in now in his sixth season at the Bernabeu and helps to provide the defensive base on which the team’s dazzling lineup of attacking players needs to succeed.
The 29-year-old haul of three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and two Champions Leagues, shows just how important he has been to Carlo Ancelotti’s team in recent years.
5. Alejandro Balde
Age: 21
Club: Barcelona
Nationality: Spain
A member of that new generation of Barcelona youth products leading the club back to the top of the Spanish pile, Balde sadly missed the second half the season last term and the Euros with a hamstring tendon injury he suffered in January.
The left-back completed his return over the summer and has gone straight back into the Barcelona starting line-up, however, with his capable passing and brilliant running setting him up to be a potential long-term solution for years to come. There’s still work to be done on his final product – his 2023/24 was far less productive than his six-assist breakthrough season the year before – but at 21 years old, there’s still time for that to come.
4. Alex Grimaldo
Age: 29
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Nationality: Spain
An excellent set-piece taker with the technique of a high-quality attacking midfielder, Grimaldo’s creativity is invaluable for Xabi Alonso’s team.
Alex Grimaldo was unfortunate not to feature more for Spain at Euro 2024 after a superb season with Bayer Leverkusen. The left-back played a big part in his side’s Bundesliga success, netting 10 goals and 15 assists in 33 league appearances.
An excellent set-piece taker with the technique of a high-quality attacking midfielder, Grimaldo’s creativity is invaluable for Xabi Alonso’s team. Like many of his counterparts, the Spaniard is a full-back with more attacking intentions, with his defensive responsibilities a secondary concern.
3. Theo Hernandez
Age: 27
Club: Milan
Nationality: France
Having been cast aside by Real Madrid, Theo Hernandez quickly found a home at Milan, where he is now in his sixth season. The France left-back has been remarkably consistent with the Rossoneri, rarely bettered by his opposing winger and often chipping in with goals and assists at the other end.
While perhaps not the most dynamic full-back in the world, there are few more well-rounded players than Hernandez. He has arguably the perfect set of attributes for a modern left-back.
2. Alphonso Davies
Age: 24
Club: Bayern Munich
Nationality: Canada
It is easy to summarise Alphonso Davies as a speed merchant, a player whose remarkable speed gives him an advantage against his comparatively sluggish opponents. And there is no question that the left-back’s explosiveness is his most eye-catching attribute.
But Davies is more than just a runner. He is a superb dribbler, an adept defender and has real vision. His pace, though, is what gives him that extra edge required to both burst past defenders and keep up with attackers.
1. Josko Gvardiol
Age: 23
Club: Manchester City
Nationality: Croatia
Gvardiol is a dangerous, all-action left-back who is just as likely to score goals as he is to prevent them.
Manchester City may be enduring their most challenging season in several years, but they still have one of the planet’s best young defenders the 22-year-old Gvardiol.
After a relatively slow start in the Premier League, the Croatian has been transformed from an imposing central defender to a dangerous, all-action left-back who is just as likely to score goals as he is to prevent them. It will be fascinating to see where his ceiling is in the coming years.
