#3 Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco
Emerging from the academy at Genk, Carrasco got his breakthrough at Monaco during their ascent from a Ligue 2 side to Ligue 1 contenders. The Belgian prodigy was snapped up by Atletico Madrid for roughly €20 million in the summer of 2015.
Carrasco gradually grew into the team and Diego Simeone’s formation, but it took until the latter stages of the season for him to grab a spot in the first XI. On a personal note, Carrasco’s season ended on a high becoming the first Belgian to score in the Champions League final but all in vain as Atletico lost out in the penalty shoot-out to Real Madrid.
Carrasco, 23 now, has since become a mainstay in the national team as well as Atletico Madrid and has this season, been given an increased impetus to score goals in Simeone’s tweaked formation.
With seven goals in 15 appearances across all competitions for Atletico and three for Belgium since the Euros ended, Carrasco has truly risen to the occasion and is showing why he is so highly rated. His manager was quoted saying to Goal.com, “He has grown with hard work and sacrifice on his part, beginning to reach his potential.”
Carrasco, recently linked with Manchester United, is a hugely talented winger and is on his way to becoming one of the premium wide attackers.
