10. Estevao Willian
Age: 17 (June 7, 2007)
Club: Palmeiras (joining Chelsea in 2025)
Bojan, Gerard Deulofeu, Alen Halilovic, Ryan Gould. Gelson Martins, Juan Iturbe. ‘The new Messi’ is a moniker that hangs heavy, sinking more than it helps float, believe it or not.
Leo reached GOAT status not because of his dribbling, shooting or passing, but because of the combination of all three. Which makes ‘Messinho’ perhaps the first of these young pretenders who actually profiles similarly to the man himself. He actually has it all: not just the aesthetic running style or original story.
The ball is glued to Estevao Willian’s feet when he dribbles. He can swivel and shimmy to beat defenders, ghosting past them like smoke and when he shoots, he recalls old-fashioned Brazilians like Ronaldo and Romario who generated supreme power. Estevao is supremely creative, whether that’s through the space he creates or the pure opportunities, and he has torn up Brazilian football at such a young age.
We‘re on tenterhooks for the next chapter. In a boat with Chelsea’s myriad right-wing prospects, some of them may not make their extraordinary ceilings. It would be a shame if Estevao goes anywhere other than the top, however: he’s too fun not to.
9. Leny Yoro
Age: 18 (November 13, 2005)
Club: Manchester United
Manchester United’s new era has begun, with a comeback against Aston Villa to start with and an FA Cup final win over Pep Guardiola to savour. Leny Yoro’s signing is a statement up there with the best.
He has an air about him already. There’s something of countryman Eduardo Camavinga in Yoro’s stature (despite the comparisons to William Saliba), in that it’s almost impossible to get past him with the ball. Yoro doesn't even lean in to tackle, making it difficult for an attacker to read him – and his reading of the game is excellent. He might be coming for that Van Dijk ‘dribbled past’ cliché.
He has time. Yoro is barely old enough to buy a pint in Manchester and yet he towers over forwards – yet he’s about far more than just his physical attributes. He could probably make it as a midfielder, too, given his technical prowess. An injury will rob us of seeing him right away but this was always going to be a long-term project: Yoro is the definition of one for the future.
He may have only wanted Real Madrid – and they may regret not getting him. He is a talent that all things being well, will go to the very top. This is the kind of buy that United haven’t made enough over the last 10 years, and it may well turn out to be a bargain.
8. Desire Doue
Age: 19 (June 3, 2005)
Club: Rennes
Pep Guardiola has ruined football, sucked all the fun out of the beautiful game, reducing the great entertainers of the sport into possession recyclers and a maverick like Jack Grealish into a sideways pass merchant. At least, according to a few folks on the internet.
Desire Doue has been likened to Ronaldinho and has a spark of Jamal Musiala when he shifts from first gear to fifth. He can pirouette through tight spaces and slalom through defences like the wind. But for all the joga bonito, he’s a proper, ‘2024 footballer’, too. And that’s what makes him special.
For every trick from his box, Doue has the willingness to press diligently; the IQ to steal the ball from deep. He’s creative without being wasteful. He could so easily take on half your team – but he has the intelligence to know the opportune moment. No.8s with high take-on stats are ten a penny – they need a little covering, defensively – but Doue is disciplined. He has all the talent in the world and all the brain for when to apply it.
Rennes midfielder Baptiste Santamaria described his team-mate as unplayable. And that’s what all the great artists are: breathtaking on the ball, with a foundation of maturity to match.
7. Joao Neves
Age: 19 (September 27, 2004)
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
“I've never seen a situation like it in my career,” Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said after calling up Joao Neves to the senior team for the first time. Despite being a teenager, a little under 5’9, the then-Benfica starlet had a presence about him, even in a room with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Pepe and Bruno Fernandes. “In two days he gained the respect of the entire Portugal locker room,” Martinez waxed.
His leadership is exerted in his actions on the pitch. Neves is a No.8 who shoulders the responsibility of dropping deep to receive, yet he dictates attacks with authority. His low centre of gravity makes him excellent in ball-winning situations and hard to press; his vision is superb and he lacks any real weakness. Even with his diminutive stature, his aerial ability is impressive.
And he’s incredibly resilient. A move to PSG makes Benfica the first club in football history to have completed six sales of over €60m. With Neves’ exit following Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Darwin Nunez, Enzo Fernandez and Goncalo Ramos, it’s wholly fair to be sceptical of whether he’ll surf the stratosphere he’s suggested in his short career so far – and the reduced fee of just €60m raises question marks when Benfica were adamant he wouldn’t leave for double.
But this is a player who barely feels like a teenager at all. A sure bet? There’s no such thing – but the signs are that he can be anything he wants to.
6. Kobbie Mainoo
Age: 19 (April 19, 2005)
Club: Manchester United
When Alan Hansen piped up that “you can’t win anything with kids,” an entire club took it personally. Great players have come through the Manchester United ranks at a young age. Generational ones have put the Red Devils on their backs.
Kobbie Mainoo led United to silverware as a 19-year-old, much like his predecessors did in the 90s. He’s grabbed this team by the neck, assuming a leadership role with a quiet, unstated style. And a rise from academy prospect to a starter in the Euro 2024 final would have been impressive alone: coupled with Gareth Southgate’s famed fear of deviating from experience, it’s an indication of just how good he really is.
Mainoo is the kind of footballer that England simply didn’t produce when he was born. Unpressable deep, able to swivel on a dime and progress vertically; perhaps, most excitingly, with an eye for an occasion. An FA Cup final goal shows composure, but also how this Stockport native feels like he belongs at the top.
A bright spot in a dreary season, Mainoo has only just begun. What’s the betting he features in a couple more finals for England?
5. Franco Mastantuono
Age: 16 (August 14, 2007)
Club: River Plate
It’s been said in the past that when the Wimbledon roof closed and Roger Federer stepped out onto court, he was simply unbeatable. Such was his precision – when he didn’t have to calculate and contend with the elements – that he could measure his way to a victory instead of battling for it.
It’s a parallel to Argentine tennis prodigy Franco Mastantuono – fifth in the national youth rankings, doncha know – despite the translation of sport. Now in the football world, Mastantuono stepped up over a free-kick against Sarmiento last month, 25 yards from goal. He looked like he measuring a serve over the net. Sure enough, he hit an ace.
That he’s younger than Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’ makes his ability all the more astounding. He has Federer’s elegance across the grass, but he’s Nadal-like, too: no one can knock him off the ball in one of the most brutal leagues on Earth. It’s the deadly combination of decision-making and ball-striking. The capacity to smash the target. The sense to time it to perfection.
When, how or where he reaches the top is a story for the latter half of the decade. He is simply stunning to watch, graceful even, when he’s in full flow.
4. Endrick
Age: 18 (July 21, 2006)
Club: Real Madrid
There’s just something about Endrick that no one can put their finger on. Citing Sir Bobby Charlton as a hero, signing for Real Madrid at 16 years old, surfing across a crowd with a Pele-esque energy. He has that dreaded word, ‘aura’, from the quotes, to the records that are tumbling at his ferocious feet.
The story will go down in history – however it ends. Endrick rattled 165 goals in 169 games for Palmeiras’ youth teams, became Brazil’s youngest samba star since Ronaldo in ‘94 and signed for Real Madrid, all before turning 18. He became Wembley’s youngest-ever scorer (Sir Bobby would be proud). He weeped at his Bernabeu unveiling.
The hype is well-placed at least. The way he strikes a ball can’t be taught: it’s un-Brazilian, in some ways, opting for cold, ruthlessness, rather than anything aesthetic. He’s Ronaldo-like in his ability to create chances just from manipulating space in the final third – and he has that habit of demanding in the big moments.
And it’s all underpinned by a mentality that seduced even Real Madrid into buying into The Endrick Show. Whichever way it goes, we’ve never seen anything like it.
3. Warren Zaire-Emery
Age: 18 (March 8, 2006)
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Antoine Griezmann played 84 consecutive games for France – but was conspicuous in his absence twice. In the second half of the World Cup final in 2022, and left out of the Euro 2024 semi-final. Now 33, he’s forever been the bastion of calm and control in a Les Bleus side of runners and riders. The baton is slipping from his fingers.
Warren Zaire-Emery is not the same kind of player. He’s a No.8 who blossomed in the shade of Marco Verratti, picked up his press resistance and learned a thing or two about space – on and off the ball. The PSG teen is old beyond his years, able to dictate the tempo of a game like a veteran, finding space where there’s none to be seen and always putting the ball in a better place than where he found it.
In that respect, he’s the future of France. WZE is the cool head when Kylian Mbappe is threatening to lose his – he’s an elite decision-maker and unbelievably silky on the ball. He is the perfect complement to Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga.
With Mbappe no longer at PSG, Zaire-Emery may well be the core of the project, too: a homegrown hero with the talent to decide the biggest occasions, albeit in a different manner. He’s incredibly special, and already brilliant to watch.
2. Arda Guler
Age: 19 (February 25, 2005)
Club: Real Madrid
German stadiums rumbled with anticipation every time Arda Guler picked up the ball this summer. The Turkish were among the most vociferous of audiences at Euro 2024 – but there was something special about this boy, levitating spectators out of their seats every time he shaped up on that wand of a left foot.
There’s a reason for ‘inevitability’ in football: last-minute winners aren’t luck. Those who take on copious levels of responsibility are the ones who deliver knock-out blows – and Guler is happy to soak it all up. He’s incredibly efficient, never wasting a touch on the ball and his movement is excellent. He missed half of his debut season for Real Madrid, made 12 appearances and scored in half of them. He will step up, whether anyone around him does or not.
In this Los Blancos superteam, the expectation is that everyone will, in fact, step up. Mbappe, Endrick, Rodrygo, Bellingham and Vinicius all want Guler’s minutes. A loan move has been touted.
But more important than the ability, the mentality is already there for Guler. He demands his moments – just like he did at the Euros.
1. Lamine Yamal
Age: 17 (July 13, 2007)
Club: Barcelona
In Barcelona lore, being applauded by opposition fans is reserved for the likes of Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho. When Cadiz fans clapped Lamine Yamal’s senior debut, they knew they’d witnessed history – less than 12 months later, he’d written more for the national team.
Yamal might just be the best right-winger on Earth, regardless of age. You saw it for yourself all summer long. He played 50 times in his first full season not because Barcelona are desperate to hail a new Lionel Messi – but because already, he is utterly indispensable. The same goes for Spain.
The 17-year-old is elite in tight spaces and explosive across a long stretch of grass, yet he doesn’t need to beat you in a footrace. His vision is flawless and he can pick out a pass through the eye of a needle. He can drop a shoulder to fool an entire back four; he can bend the whole game to his will, just by drifting inside.
There’s no good reason that he shouldn’t have picked up the player of the tournament at Euro 2024. This is an elite talent already. We’ve seen the future: the excitement isn’t in what Lamine Yamal will turn into, it’s the fact that we’ll get to see it, touch wood, for years to come.
