The top 10 dribblers in Europe’s five major leagues in 2024-25: Yamal, Mbappe, Wirtz….
We’re slowly getting used to a new era in which Lionel Messi and Neymar aren’t striking fear into poor European defences, but a new crop of talented wing wizards have emerged to take their place in the dribbling stakes.
Stars young and old from Everton, Bayer Leverkusen and Barcelona are among the most prolific dribblers of the 2024-25 campaign so far.
Here are the 10 players who have completed the most dribbles across Europe’s five major leagues – La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Premier League and Ligue 1 – in 2024-25. Where two players are tied on successful dribblers, we’ve put them in order of the superior per-minute ratio.
10. Takefusa Kubo – 75
The Real Sociedad winger has enjoyed another productive season in Spain, where he’s ranked among the top dribblers in Europe.
With that sort of record, we wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few clubs sniffing around him this summer.
9. Andrei Ratiu – 76
Rayo Vallecano have punched above their weight in La Liga this season and players like Ratiu have played a key role in that.
He’s attempted 147 dribbles throughout the season and has managed to complete 76 of them, which is decent going.
8. Jamie Gittens – 77
While Borussia Dortmund themselves have endured an inconsistent campaign, Gittens has been grabbing plenty of headlines with his sensational performances.
The 20-year-old looks like a star in the making and is currently averaging a successful dribble every 23.2 minutes in the Bundesliga.
If Gittens continues on this trajectory, don’t be surprised if he’s knocking on the door for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for the World Cup squad.
7. Florian Wirtz – 82
After enjoying the best season of his career to date in 2023-24, the Bayer Leverkusen playmaker has picked up from where he left off last time.
Wirtz is undoubtedly one of the most technically gifted players in the Bundesliga and his low centre of gravity allows him to weave in and out of defenders with ease.
With 82 successful dribbles, the 22-year-old is undoubtedly one of the best dribblers around right now.
6. Vinicius Junior – 82
The Brazilian winger produced 17 more successful dribbles than he managed in La Liga last season.
Vinicius hasn’t been at his best in terms of delivering a consistent end product this season, but he’s always a threat when running at defences.
5. Kylian Mbappe – 83
After a stuttering start at Madrid, it’s safe to say that Mbappe has now adapted to life in Spain.
Impressively, the Frenchman eclipsed the number of successful dribbles that he managed during his final two seasons in France with PSG.
With not one but two of Europe’s best dribblers, Carlo Ancelotti’s Los Blancos are a force to be reckoned with.
4. Dodi Lukebakio – 84
The 27-year-old Sevilla star has completed more than double the number of dribbles he managed last season.
Al-Nassr did try and poach him in the January window, but they were ultimately unsuccessful with their approach.
Given the sort of form he’s been in this year, Lukebakio is almost certainly going to have plenty of clubs sniffing around him in the summer. Watch this space.
3. Mohammed Kudus – 92
Kudus topped this list in 2023-24 with a whopping 124 successful dribbles.
He’s not quite reached those same levels this season, but his record of 92 successful dribbles in just 29 appearances isn’t to be sniffed at.
While the Hammers have endured an inconsistent season in 2024-25, Kudus has kept fans on the edge of their seats with his explosive runs.
2. Jeremy Doku – 107
Considering he’s only started in 16 Premier League matches this season, it’s impressive in itself that Doku ranks so highly here.
There are still question marks over Doku’s final ball and finishing ability, but add that to his game and he’ll be an absolute world-beater. It’s easy to forget that he’s still only 22 years of age and could yet burst into life for Pep Guardiola’s new-look Manchester City.
1. Lamine Yamal – 161
It was at some point during his starring role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph that Yamal went from ‘outrageously gifted youngster’ to ‘legitimately one of the best forwards in Europe, regardless of age’.
The 17-year-old has picked up where he left off in the summer by stepping things up a gear for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, who have looked unstoppable with the wonderkid in their line-up and struggled badly without him.
There are still some rough edges to his game – as well as registering the most successful dribbles, he’s also top for unsuccessful dribbles with 155 – but that just speaks to how often he’s getting on the ball and looking to make things happen.
It’s quite frankly ridiculous how good he is already.
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