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The UEFA Champions League is set to continue this week, with football fans across the globe anticipating some entertaining fixtures. After a long international break, it is only right that Europe’s flagship football competition continues from where it left off.
The Champions League has seen very great footballers, both past and present, and indeed many hold the view that it is the competition where the very best of players belong. In other words, to be widely regarded as one of the best in the sport, you need to prove your mettle in the Champions League.
As a result, the competition often provides the perfect platform for young footballers to make their mark. In the last decade, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been the standout stars in the Champions League, but the superstar duo didn’t look this prolific when they made their debuts in the competition as teenagers.
It will surprise you to know that both Ronaldo and Messi do not even make the list when it comes to top five players who have scored the most goals in the competition as teens. The Champions League is arguably the biggest stage any footballer could dream of, but it is even more difficult when a young player has to overcome all that pressure to perform.
That notwithstanding, here are the five most prolific teenagers in the history of the Champions League:
#5 Obafemi Martins/Miralem Pjanic – (4 goals)
Starting the list is Nigerian international Obafemi Martins, who managed to net four goals in the Champions League as a teenager. The 33-year-old may currently be playing in China, but he was once regarded as the biggest thing in football during his fledgling years.
Martins made his debut in the Champions League while playing for Serie A giants Inter Milan. In 32 games, the speedster scored an impressive 10 goals – four of which came while he was under the age of 20. The former Newcastle United striker, however, shares that record with Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
The diminutive Bosnian midfielder has been less productive in front of goal in recent years, but the situation was different while he was developing at French side Lyon. Pjanic was one of Lyon’s most influential players in the late 2000s and scored a total of five goals for the club in the Champions League before joining Roma.
However, four of those goals came while he was still a teenager. The goal tallies of both Pjanic and Martins may look so scanty, but these were teenagers and to have such numbers at that age is a huge achievement.
#4 Bojan Krkic/Yakubu Aiyegbeni – (5 goals)
Also in the list of most prolific teenagers in the history of the Champions League are Bojan Krkic and Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Both forwards were so impactful in their teenage years that it is baffling how they didn’t quite turn out to be so successful in their careers.
Bojan had a very interesting beginning at Barcelona after being promoted from the club’s famous La Masia academy. The Spain international won numerous trophies with the Catalan giants and was a revelation in the Champions League as well.
As a teenager, Bojan scored five goals in the Champions League at Barca and even went on to win the competition before departing the club. Yakubu’s story in Europe’s flagship competition is not too different, as the Nigerian also managed to net five goals in the competition as a teenager.
The former Everton striker started his European career at Israeli club Maccabi Haifa. However, he became a household name due to his impressive performances for the club in the Champions League.
Both Yakubu and Bojan may not have kicked on to reach the levels that their talents deserve, but they certainly made their marks in the Champions League as teenagers.
#3 Karim Benzema/Raul Gonzalez – (6 goals)
Another set of players who make the list of prolific teenagers in the Champions League are Karim Benzema and Raul Gonzalez. The pedigree of both players is already known by many football fans due to them having kept their consistency in the competition.
Raul scored six goals during his teenage years with boyhood club Real Madrid, while Benzema also netted the same number of goals as a youngster while playing for Lyon in Ligue 1. It may be a coincidence that both players wore the Madrid jersey, but their potency in front of goal is never in doubt.
In fact, Raul was the all-time top scorer in the Champions League for many years, until he was eventually overtaken by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Even currently, he is only second to the aforementioned superstars, while Benzema comes in joint-fourth place with Ruud van Nistelrooy when it comes to the all-time top scorers in the competition.
#2 Patrick Kluivert (7 goals)
Ex-Netherlands international Patrick Kluivert can also not be left out when it comes to the most prolific teenagers in the history of the Champions League. The now 42-year-old is widely remembered for his time at Barcelona, but he started making the headlines even before he joined the Spanish giants.
As a fledgling teenager at Ajax Amsterdam, Kluivert was simply unstoppable. He was a member of the history-making Ajax side that won the Champions League in 1995. The former Barca striker came off the bench in that final and scored the winner as the Dutch side won against AC Milan.
The Dutchman eventually went on to play for AC Milan and Barcelona, but not before he impressively netted seven goals in Champions League whilst still a teenager at Ajax. His record stands till date as the second most prolific run any teenager has ever had in the history of Europe’s flagship club competition.
Unlike others, Kluivert continued from being a teenage genius and developed into one of the best strikers on the planet, before finally hanging his boots to take up another career in coaching.
#1 Kylian Mbappe – (12 goals)
Occupying the number one spot as the most prolific teenager ever to play in the Champions League is Kylian Mbappe. The French youngster has a monstrous goal-scoring record in the competition, having scored 12 times already.
Mbappe netted six times in nine games during his debut campaign in the Champions League, as Monaco reached the semi-final. He then scored four more in eight Champions League appearances last season after joining Paris Saint-Germain from the Principality club.
This season, he has already netted twice in the competition, and he could even extend his goal-scoring record further before December when he will become 20.
And, at this rate, Mbappe should be rivalling the goal records of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi by the time he hits his 30s.
