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The world of football has seen several remarkable talents emerge over the past couple of years. Some of these young players have already attained stardom, while others have begun to make a name for themselves.
Clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint Germain, and Juventus have all started recruiting these youngsters, with Ousmane Dembele, Frenkie de Jong, João Félix, Marcus Rashford, Kai Havertz, and Kylian Mbappe being some of the most sought after talents in football today.
Exciting prospects like Vinicius Junior, Matthijs de Ligt, and Phil Foden are also players who have exploded onto the stage and are destined to become superstars in the future.
Here we analyze the best players aged 22 or under and rank them based on their current achievements and potential.
#5 Frenkie de Jong
Barcelona might have scooped up one of the biggest upcoming stars of the game when they signed 22-year-old Frenkie de Jong from Ajax Amsterdam this summer. A ball-playing midfielder who's known for close control of the ball, tremendous passing ability, and dribbling skills, de Jong is often compared to Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta and will be one of the biggest names in European football in the years to come.
Frenkie de Jong caught the attention of the whole world, with his remarkable performances for Ajax last season, under manager Erik ten Hag. He is best remembered for his scintillating displays against former European champions Real Madrid, and Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus, in the Champions League knockout games.
De Jong was the standout player for an Ajax team that had an astonishing campaign last season, where they won the Dutch double for the first time in 17 years and were on the verge of playing the Champions League final.
#4 Trent Alexander-Arnold
Jurgen Klopp is known for transforming Liverpool and restoring the Reds' status as a European superpower, but what impresses fans and pundits most is the way he develops his players. Trent Alexander-Arnold is the perfect example of such a player, who even at the age of 20, is considered by many to be the best right-back in the world.
Alexander-Arnold first caught the attention of football fans in the 2017/18 season, after he got into the Liverpool first team, following an injury to the first-choice right-back Nathaniel Clyne.
Since then, his ability to make forward runs to support the attackers, and deliver pinpoint accurate crosses has seen him endear himself to the fans. Alexander-Arnold has thrived under Jurgen Klopp's high-pressing and attacking style of play and was instrumental in Liverpool's successful Champions League campaign last season.
If he continues to improve as a player at the same remarkable rate at which he's progressing now, he very well could go on to become one of the very best players to have ever played for Liverpool.
#3 Ousmane Dembele
Seeing Ousmane Dembele feature in a conversation about the brightest young talents is of little surprise, as football fans believe that he has the potential to win the Ballon d'Or in the future. The 21-year old is already one of Barcelona's most valuable players and their president Josep Maria Bartomeu even claims he's better than Neymar.
Dembele took the world by storm in 2016 in his debut season at Borussia Dortmund, racking up 21 assists for the German club. In the following transfer window, he was on the wishlist of the biggest clubs in Europe, and Barcelona eventually splashed the cash to sign him.
Since joining Barcelona, Dembele's campaigns have been ravaged by injuries, which have prevented fans from witnessing his true potential. Even so, Dembele has shown flashes of what he's truly capable of, and with his tremendous pace and dribbling ability, he has convinced football fans that he's a superstar in the making.
If he can avoid injuries, the French World Cup winner will only improve as a player at a club like Barcelona, under the guidance of the great Lionel Messi.
#2 Jadon Sancho
Another Englishman to feature on this list is Jadon Sancho. The 19-year-old has been nothing short of a revelation since he caught the attention of the footballing world last season.
One of the most dynamic and skilled forwards in the game today, the Borussia Dortmund winger is known for his ability to dribble past players and create goalscoring chances for his team.
Despite his inexperience, his decision-making is second to none, as is his ability to pick out team-mates through incisive passes.
Having registered 13 goals and 19 assists for Dortmund last season, Sancho has started this season in an equally impressive manner.
Sancho is a player that many of the elite European clubs have shown an interest in, and it remains beyond any doubt that this young English starlet will be a world-beater in the years to come.
#1 Kylian Mbappe
Possibly the most obvious entry on this list, Kylian Mbappe, despite being only 20, is already one of the very best players in the world. Challenging Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the title of the best player in the world, Mbappe has accolades that would outshine some of the most established players.
The winner of the 2018 FIFA Young Player award, Mbappe has everything in his armory to become one of the greatest of all time.
Mbappe's breakthrough season was 2016/17, where he orchestrated Monaco's domestic triumph in Ligue 1, beating reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain to the title. The following year, he was taken on loan by the Parisians, where he formed a devastating trio with Neymar and Edinson Cavani, and truly cemented himself as one of the best players in the world.
Demonstrating one stellar performance after another in the 2018 World Cup for France, Mbappe continued to establish his status as one of the best players in the world. Last season, Mbappe scored 39 goals and had 17 assists for PSG, a tally only bested by Lionel Messi.
Truly a footballing prodigy, Kylian Mbappe is seen by fans all over the world as the player who will take up the mantle of the best player in the world, after Messi and Ronaldo decide to hang up their boots.
But he will have stiff competition from players like Frenkie de Jong, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ousmane Dembele and Jadon Sancho. Only time will tell how great these young stars go on to become in the years to come.
