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The composition of any top European team is a mix of young and experienced players. While the latter provides the guile, nuance and leadership required to win trophies, the former provides the youthful drive, enthusiasm and energy needed to sustain title challenges.
However, it is a huge bonus when one of the youngsters in the team becomes the primary goal-scorer. Although quite rare, there have been a few young attacking superstars in European football who have outperformed their potential in their early 20s itself.
Erling Haaland is a prime example of the same, as the 22-year-old has obliterated several goal-scoring records this season. However, he is not the only one, with football history previously boasting a few players who scored for fun despite being incredibly young.
On that note, let's take a look at the five players with the most goals scored while aged 22.
Note: Only those players who were playing for a club in Europe's top five leagues have been considered.
#5 Andy Cole | 41 goals
Andy Cole may not be the most renowned name in the game, but the former striker is the Premier League's fourth all-time top goal-scorer with 187 goals.
The England star impressed at an early age at Bristol City after being offloaded by Arsenal following a disappointing loan spell at Fulham. This led to Newcastle United breaking their then-club-record transfer fee to sign him for £1.75 million in 1993.
The centre-forward, who turned 22 in October 1993, was an instant hit at Tyneside. He scored 34 times in the Premier League in his debut campaign, setting a record for most goals in a single season.
Cole also had a productive start to the 1993-94 campaign, which meant that he banged in 41 goals across all competitions at the age of 22. Understandably, Manchester United broke the then-British record transfer fee of £7 million to sign him from Newcastle in 1995, with Keith Gillespie also going the other way.
Cole went on to win five league titles with the Red Devils, but his best goalscoring season was the 1993-94 campaign as his record was beaten only this year. One of the most effective centre-forwards in English football history, he was certainly one of the most exciting youngsters of his time.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo | 42 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo has already cemented his place in European football as one of the greatest players ever, if not the outright best. This is despite the Portuguese star playing outside Europe's top five leagues for the first time in two decades this year.
However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had the mark of being a generational talent at a young age itself. After impressing with Sporting CP as a teenager, Ronaldo joined Manchester United in 2003.
He took a year to settle into arguably the hardest league in world football, he never looked back. Ronaldo improved year after year, until 2007, when he turned into a full-fledged attacking nuisance for opposition teams. He was full of tricks and flicks and also developed a knack for scoring goals consistently in his early 20s.
The 2007-08 season proved to be a landmark campaign for him. He helped Manchester United win the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup while also winning the Ballon d'Or in 2008.
Ronaldo scored 42 goals in 49 matches between February 2007 and February 2008, when he was aged 22. Those were quite astonishing figures for somebody who was a pure winger at the time.
One of the finest footballers to ever grace the game, Ronaldo dominated European football for nearly two decades before joining Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr in January.
#3 Kylian Mbappe | 42 goals
In the eyes of many, Kylian Mbappe is a future Ballon d'Or winner. Some are even surprised that the mercurial Frenchman has not already received the accolade, given his performances over the last 6-7 years.
The 24-year-old, who is still relatively young, broke out on the scene with AS Monaco at the age of 18 in the 2016-17 season. His performances led to Paris Saint-Germain signing him on a season-long loan deal in the summer of 2017.
He then made a permanent switch to Paris in the following campaign for a mammoth £165 million. Since then, the French star has become PSG's all-time goal-scorer with 206 goals in 255 appearances for the club.
Hence, it is no surprise that Mbappe has made his way on this list, with the attacking superstar scoring 42 goals in 47 matches aged 22. He had also won two trophies during that time period, but missed out on the UEFA Champions League and Ligue 1 titles that year.
Regardless, with his prime years still ahead of him, Mbappe is likely to score many more goals in a single year and win several trophies.
#2 Lionel Messi | 47 goals
Lionel Messi is perhaps the greatest of all time already and his 2022 FIFA World Cup victory only furthered his case for the same. However, the Argentinian always seemed destined to become one of the all-time greats, showing incredible signs from a young age itself.
Messi was a La Masia graduate and joined the Barcelona senior team at age 19 in 2005. Although he was not immediately as good as we know him today, the South American star became one of the main players in the team by the end of the 2007-08 season.
In the following campaign, under Guardiola's tutelage, Barcelona went on to win the treble, with Messi scoring 38 times in 51 games across all competitions.
However, the maestro, who turned 22 in June 2009, only got better in the following campaign as he smashed 47 goals in 53 games. While he could not help his side retain their Champions League trophy, they did win the league-cup double again. He also lifted his second consecutive Ballon d'Or in 2010.
Messi has since gone on to etch his name in Barcelona's history books before joining PSG in 2021. The Blaugrana legend is set to be a free agent this summer, with Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal and a return to Barcelona rumored to be his potential options.
#1 Erling Haaland | 51 goals (and counting)
Erling Haaland has been a freak of nature this season, breaking records for fun in his first stint in English football.
The Norwegian, who turned 22 in July last year, signed for Manchester City for £51 million (excluding add-ons), after scoring 86 goals in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund. Under Pep Guardiola this season, he has turned into a machine who has bulldozed his way to the top of the Premier League goal-scoring charts.
Haaland bagged his 35th league goal of the season with his strike against West Ham United in a 3-0 win earlier this month. By doing so, he broke the record for most goals in a single Premier League campaign (34 by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer).
These strikes have led to Manchester City being in pole position to retain their league title. They are also on course to secure two more trophies.
The Citizens have made it into the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, with Haaland bagging 12 goals in eight games. He has also spearheaded his side to the final of the FA Cup, where they will face cross-city rivals Manchester United, with three goals in as many games.
In total, the 22-year-old has already scored 51 times this season and could add many more before his 23rd birthday in a couple of months. With trophies also on the horizon, Haaland can certainly argue that the 2022-23 campaign has been the most successful one of his young career.
