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There is no doubt that we are witnessing a special era of football. We have seen the best of not just one, but two of the greatest players to play the game.
People may argue over which of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is better, but with both now over 30, we should enjoy watching them both while we still can. Over the last decade, the pair have dominated football, and almost changed the way the game is played.
Messi has spent his entire career at Barcelona, where he has scored an incredible 597 goals, as well as amassing an impressive collection of trophies. The Argentine forward has won nine La Liga titles, six Copa del Reys, and the Champions League on four occasions.
Ronaldo on the other hand is well on the way to winning the league title in a third country with Juventus, having already tasted success in England and Spain with Manchester United and Real Madrid respectively. His goalscoring record at Real was remarkable, scoring 450 goal in just 438 matches.
There are players in line to replace the pair as the world’s best players. Kylian Mbappe is already one of the top players in the world, and at just 20 years of age, he still looks like he can get better. His PSG teammate Neymar is another who could stake a claim for being among the best in the world, although he has struggled with injuries since his move to France.
But there will be others. Here are the five best teenage players in world football right now.
#5 Justin Kluivert (Roma)
Kluivert is a man who will be desperate to follow in the footsteps of his father. Patrick Kluivert had a fine career, and enjoyed great success with Barcelona, after starting his career with Ajax. Justin also began his career at Ajax, playing 44 times for the Dutch giants, scoring 12 goals.
Last summer, he made the move to AS Roma in a deal worth just over £16 million. He hasn’t had the best debut campaign at the Stadio Olimpico, scoring just once in 24 Serie A games, as well as netting once in the Champions League. He is someone with massive potential though, and he has all the attributes to go on and have an excellent career.
#4 Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
In 2017, Real Madrid agreed to pay nearly £40 million for Vinicius when he was still a relatively unknown 17-year-old at Flamengo, where he had made very few senior appearances. The deal made Vinicius the most expensive player under the age of 19. Last summer, he made the move to Real, and he has excelled in the months since.
He still isn’t a first choice pick at the Bernabeu, but he has already made a big impact. It has been a tough year for Real, who lost their talisman in Cristiano Ronaldo before the season got underway, as well as manager Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman has since returned to take the top job. Vinicius looks like a big part of Real’s future. He has appeared 28 times for Real in all competitions this season, scoring four times.
#3 Joao Felix (Benfica)
A year ago, very few people would have heard of Joao Felix, but he is the name on everyone’s lips right now. The Benfica forward has spent a couple of years playing for the Portuguese side’s B-team, but made the step up to the first team at the start of the season, and has been one of the shining lights in European football.
The 19-year-old has been superb for Benfica both in the Primeira Liga and in European football, netting an impressive 16 goals in 37 games in all competitions so far this season. Last week he became the youngest player to score a Europa League hat trick when he netted a treble against Eintracht Frankfurt. He has a £104 million release clause in his new Benfica contract, but it isn’t out of the question if one of Europe’s top sides meets it.
#2 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
In 2017, Sancho took the unusual step for an English youngster and made the decision to make the move abroad. At 17, the winger chose to leave Manchester City, making the move to Dortmund for a fee of £10 million, which is looking like a bit of a bargain now. After a quiet first season, where he struggled to get into the team, he has come into his own this time around, and looks like one of the finest attacking players in Europe.
He has made 13 assists in the Bundesliga this season, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues, with Lionel Messi and Eden Hazard one behind. Sancho has also earned himself a first international call-up, and started both of England’s recent European qualifying matches, against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.
#1 Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax)
The whole of Europe has been impressed by Ajax’s superb run to the Champions League semi-final this season. The Eredivisie side humiliated the holding champions Real Madrid in their own back yard in the round of 16, before knocking out Juventus in the quarter finals. There has been a lot of talk about the quality of the young players in the squad, and none are better than Matthijs de Ligt.
At just 19, de Ligt is the driving force behind this Ajax team as captain, and popped up with the winning goal against Juventus. He is without a doubt one of the finest young players in world football, and looks like following in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Virgil van Dijk in becoming one of the best defenders in the world. He has already played 15 times for the Netherlands, and looks certain to fetch a big transfer fee in the summer.
