The left back position is one of the most talent scarce in world football by virtue of the fact that fullbacks are difficult to find, and especially left-footed fullbacks who can fulfill all the duties a modern-day LB is expected to perform.
Although the Bundesliga don’t have a great left back for every team in the league, they have quite a few talents at the top who are among the best left backs in all of European football.
So here is a look at the 10 best Bundesliga left backs heading into the new 2024/25 season, with breakout stars joining familiar faces like Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and RB Leipzig’s David Raum.
10. Phillipp Mwene, Mainz
After two seasons of starting in the Europa League for PSV, Phillipp Mwene returned to man the left back position for Mainz. The 30-year-old Austrian started 23 matches, averaging a key pass per game and more than two combined tackles and interceptions per match.
In a way, Mwene makes it into the top 10 by default due to a limited amount of top starters at the left back position in the Bundesliga, because if Dortmund’s Julien Ryerson played more than seven games at left back, he would have displaced Mwene from the list.
9. Luca Netz, Borussia Monchengladbach
The 21-year-old Luca Netz is one of the most promising left backs in German football and is a candidate to threaten for a top-five slot if he can make significant progress in the 2024/25 season.
Netz started 25 matches between left back and left wing back for the Foals, recording four assists and 1.3 key passes per game as one of the more effective playmakers at the left back position.
The German fullback wasn’t bad defensively either, and if he can make strides with more progressive actions and consistency, he could prove to be an upgrade on Ramy Bensebaini.
8. Tom Rothe, Union Berlin
There are a number of young left backs around Europe on newly promoted teams who are set to make noise in the 2024/25 season, including Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis.
You can count Tom Rothe as among those players, as the 19-year-old from Holstein Kiel put up numbers that can stand with any left back in the Bundesliga, even if you adjust for the difficulty of the 2. Bundesliga.
Kiel have been knocking on the top flight’s doorstep for years, even upsetting Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal. Rothe was a big part of that young nucleus in northern Germany, on loan from Borussia Dortmund.
Last season, Rothe scored 4 goals with 7 assists, averaging 1.2 tackles and 1.0 interceptions per game. There’s a good chance that, in a few years, we’re talking about him as the best left back in the Bundesliga.
Union Berlin now have two top players at left back after adding Rothe to the mix this summer, but, alas, there is always the chance he ends up heading back to Dortmund in Julien Ryerson fashion.
7. Ramy Bensebaini, Borussia Dortmund
Ramy Bensebaini was supposed to be in the conversation for the best left back in the Bundesliga, based on what he was doing at Borussia Monchengladbach. But his much-praised darkhorse transfer to Borussia Dortmund has been a disaster to this point, much like a few other stars who moved from the Foals to BVB.
Although Bensebaini put up strong defensive numbers in Dortmund’s Champions League campaign, he was displaced by a more dynamic and consistent Ian Maatsen.
Now that Maatsen has left for a permanent move to the Premier League’s Aston Villa, Bensebaini is back in as the Dortmund starter with a huge point to prove, having fallen off massively in the attacking end.
Bensebaini has been worryingly ill-disciplined for Die Schwarzgelben, racking up more yellow cards than goal contributions. His starting spot is tenuous with Julien Ryerson lurking, but with his flicks and goal-scoring eye for Monchengladbach, Bensebaini is also a candidate to be the biggest bounce-back defender in the entire Bundesliga.
6. Bernardo, Bochum
Bochum seem to always be good for a hidden gem or two in each season they have been in the Bundesliga, and Bernardo was one of the heroes of last season’s miracle story to avoid relegation.
The 29-year-old Brazilian left back put up some of the most impressive defensive numbers at the position in the German top flight, averaging 3.0 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game for Bochum.
That’s probably because Bernardo is also a center back by trade who started 10 games as an interior defender in 2023/24. However, he mostly played at left back and shined in that capacity, fitting exactly what Bochum needed to prioritize most as a defensive side.
5. Robin Gosens, Union Berlin
Former Inter Milan man and Atalanta star Robin Gosens did so well in the Bundesliga last season that he is being linked with a move back to another big Serie A club, AS Roma.
But many German football fans will hope that the athletic left-sided wide man remains in Berlin as an Union player, as they benefited greatly from his chance-creation and experience – and Gosens benefited, too, bouncing back as an important player for the former Champions League Cinderella story.
Union Berlin have taken a step back since their Champions League qualification, but Gosens was on the ball for a side that narrowly avoided relegation, even scoring a team-high six goals with three assists for good measure.
4. David Raum, RB Leipzig
Gosens had a great season for Union, but David Raum just held him off for the fourth spot on the list of the best Bundesliga left backs. Raum is a workhorse and a great crosser of the ball who produces a higher volume of chances than Gosens.
The former Hoffenheim man has more than replaced Angelino in Leipzig, as he was one of the best chance-creators in the entire Bundesliga last season with 8 assists and 2.2 key passes per game.
Raum can sometimes get in his own way with rash, boneheaded decisions, but the good more than makes up for the bad in Leipzig’s case. The 26-year-old is quite strong defensively, too, even averaging nearly four combined tackles and interceptions per game in the Champions League last season.
3. Maximilian Mittlestadt, Stuttgart
Stuttgart shocked everyone by finishing second in the Bundesliga last season behind only a literally undefeated Bayer Leverkusen, as they cleared traditional top-three sides Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund all in a row.
They did this after barely surviving relegation in the previous season, and they achieved this turnaround with several breakout stars beyond star forwards Chris Fuhrich and Serhou Guirassy, who either earned big moves (Guirassy to Dortmund) or have been linked to big moves.
Maximilian Mittlestadt has managed to lurk under the radar, even though his displays in 2023/24 for Die Schwaben earned him starts for the German national team at Euro 2024 under Julian Nagelsmann.
Germany have long looked for a consistent, well-rounded left back, and Mittlestadt is very clearly the most balanced and effective left back in German football right now.
Mittlestadt directly contributed six goals to the Stuttgart cause, averaging 2.9 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game as one of the standout defensive left backs in all of world football.
That the 27-year-old was able to defend as well as a center back on the left flank and still average well over two combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game is a testament to his all-around ability and work rate.
In the prime of his career, Mittlestadt is giving Stuttgart hope of another strong season despite the losses of stars like Waldemar Anton and Guirassy to Dortmund. He was always a quality left back for Hertha Berlin, but, now, he is getting a chance to put it all together as one of the best in his position on a much better – and more functional – team.
2. Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich
Maybe the 2023/24 season was far from the best in Alphonso Davies’ career, but it speaks to his ability that he still had a solid season and was one of the best left backs in his position in Europe despite being noticeably below his usual standard.
Linked strongly to Real Madrid, Davies will be a free agent at the end of the season and seems to have no intention of staying with a Bayern Munich side that haven’t exactly endeared themselves to the Canadian superstar with their notorious contract negotiation tactics.
A hard-working left back who progresses play and makes great recoveries in defense, Davies averaged 2.4 dribbles completed and 1.3 key passes per game on the attacking end with 2.5 combined tackles and interceptions per game in defense.
It’s hard to believe that Davies is only 23 years old, because the man is a former treble winner and has been a starting left back for Bayern Munich since that 2019/20 season in which he immediately established himself as a top player.
1. Alex Grimaldo, Bayer Leverkusen
Yet Alphonso Davies was knocked off his perch at the top of the list of the best Bundesliga left backs, and it was none other than Bayer Leverkusen’s beyond brilliant free agent signing Alex Grimaldo.
Although Grimaldo was another masterstroke of a transfer by Leverkusen, it’s not like he was unknown. The Benfica free agent was on the wishlist of clubs as big as Barcelona, and many top clubs in Europe would have done well to sign the Spanish international for free.
Instead, Leverkusen had the foresight to actually get the transfer done, while manager Xabi Alonso was smart enough to enable Grimaldo to flourish as an attacking left back in an auxillary midfield role.
Grimaldo made a difference in the final third and on set pieces like nobody’s business, producing some of the finest free kicks in the world last season. In the end, Grimaldo finished 2023/24 with 10 goals and 13 assists.
Just as much as teammate Florian Wirtz, Grimaldo was a legitimate Bundesliga Player of the Season candidate last year and is still going to be highly effective for Leverkusen going into next season in the prime of his career as a Champions League baller with previous experience in the competition at Benfica.
A special player and a real difference-maker in the attack, Grimaldo did also quietly average 2.1 combined tackles and interceptions per game in defense to dispel any idea that he is one-dimensional on the left flank.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.