Ranking the best teenage footballers in the world right now

Football is not short of teenage superstars, with wonderkids aplenty across the top teams and beyond.

We’ve attempted to rank the most exciting teenage talents in the game right now.

Ranking the best teenage footballers in the world right now

5. Endrick – Real Madrid and Brazil

Endrick has packed an awful lot into his 18 years. From plundering goals for Palmeiras’ youth teams at almost a goal-per-game rate, to becoming the club’s youngest debutant, and the second-youngest to appear in Brazil’s Série A. It was the predacious finishing that persuaded Real Madrid to spend €60m on his services well before he was of legal age to make the move to Spain.

That transfer eventually materialised this summer and Endrick duly marked his debut for the European champions with a goal. Having only turned 18 in July, he’s already closing in on a century of senior club appearances and has scored three goals for Brazil at senior level, including becoming the youngest-ever score at Wembley.

Real Madrid landed arguably the finest forward in the world when signing Kylian Mbappe in the summer. They might just have signed the best up-and-coming one too.

4. Kobbie Mainoo – Manchester United and England

Kobbie Mainoo’s meteoric rise saw him jump from Manchester United’s academy to England’s first team in a little more than six months. After injury delayed his breakout year, Mainoo came into the Red Devils team in November and never looked back.

Assured from minute one, the 19-year-old has added cool and composure to a midfield that has often lacked it in recent campaigns. There’s an effortlessness to how Mainoo glides past opposition presses, with the teenager comfortable taking the ball deep and progressing through lines with subtle swivels and line-breaking passes.

After experimentation with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher at Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate eventually settled on Mainoo as the correct complement for Declan Rice as England reached the final. The task now is for Manchester United to find the right balance to bring the best from the Stockport-born starlet, who has often been the shining light in a flawed tactical set-up at Old Trafford.

3. Warren Zaire-Emery – Paris Saint-Germain and France

Paris Saint-Germain have spent a truck-load of cash on world stars in an attempt to win the Champions League but the future of their project might have been unearthed in the Parisian suburbs.

Warren Zaire-Emery performs like a player a decade his senior, offering class and invention in central midfield. It’s easy to forget the Frenchman is still just 18, having been a regular in the PSG side across the last two seasons and he has showcased his versatility with stints at right-back and in Luis Enrique’s engine room.

Winner of the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year in 2023/24, his place in the Team of the Season was also deserved after wrapping up his second league winner’s medal with PSG.

He’s already won four caps for France too, despite the wealth of competition for places, and celebrated his senior debut for Les Bleus with a goal. No occasion overawes Zaire-Emery, part of the Gen Z group of budding superstars for which pressure is welcomed.

2. Arda Guler – Real Madrid and Turkey

Being compared to Lionel Messi is perhaps not helpful to any emerging talent, but the similarities between Arda Guler and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner are difficult to ignore.

Each boast the overused-but-perfectly-apt ‘wand of a left foot’, have a preference for picking up pockets of space on the right, and can make supporters’ jaws drop.

Guler’s glorious goal against Georgia at Euro 2024 was one such moment, a postage-stamp strike that made the ‘Turkish Messi’ the tournament’s fifth-youngest scorer ever. It followed a purple patch to conclude last season’s La Liga, as Guler sent a statement to Carlo Ancelotti.

Real Madrid are not exactly short of top-class options in attacking areas but ensuring Guler’s development does not stall should be a priority. The kid is special.

1. Lamine Yamal – Barcelona and Spain

Lamine Yamal only celebrated his 17th birthday in the summer. At an age where most kids are nervously stalling their driving instructor’s car or borrowing a fake ID to hit the town, Yamal has become indispensable for club and country.

He’s already one of the best wingers in the world, capable of changing games at will. The leading light of Spain’s success at Euro 2024 this summer (Sorry, Rodri), his semi-final stunner against France felt like a ‘where were you?’ moment.

In 16 caps for La Roja, he’s scored three goals, laid on nine assists, and won a European Championship. For Barcelona, he’s the beacon of light in a challenging period, a £100m+ footballer found in their ranks as the Catalans navigated choppy economic waters.

To label a 17-year-old as a future Ballon d’Or winner can be unfair, but there appears to be a sense of inevitability with Yamal. He might even break Ronaldo Nazario’s record as the youngest-ever winner (21) if he maintains his trajectory.

Read – Five players who didn’t make expected summer transfers

See more – The best value Premier league transfers of the summer

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