Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Manuel Neuer,… These stars of modern world football are slowly approaching their football retirement. But who to succeed these legends of football? The editorial staff of Just Focus offers you the top 10 best players aged 20 or under. Despite their young age, these prodigies have already impressed the football world with their precocity and talent.
10 – Jamal Musiala
In 2019, Bayern managed to steal Jamal Musiala from the Blues. The latter seems to have made the right choice by leaving England for Bavaria. In just a few months, the 18-year-old has gone from the under-17 team to the first team. He also became the youngest player and then the youngest goalscorer in Bayern's history in the Bundesliga. This attacking midfielder has all the qualities to become one of the greatest: worker, passer, finisher, dribbler,… This season allowed him to reveal himself at Bayern Munich. He won the Bundesliga. Despite a lot of offensive competition, Musiala managed to play a very large number of games. 38 games for 7 goals and 1 assist. Musiala opted for the German selection at the expense of the England team. The German international became Germany's 3-0 win over Iceland last March, the youngest player in the Mannschaft since Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler in 1954. He will have his card to play at the Euro this summer.
9 – Ryan Gravenberch
The Dutch midfielder of Ajax Amsterdam is still a very young player (18 years old). He is considered according to football experts as one of the biggest prospects for the midfield position. He is a very complete player, from the top of his 1m90, he is very efficient in aerial duels. In addition, in addition to an above-average vision of play, it has a very good quality of passing and hitting. This allows him to make the difference in matches. He is often compared to a certain Paul Pogba, because of his qualities. He had a very good season with Ajax, with whom he was champion of the Netherlands. In all competitions, he played 47 games for 5 goals and 6 assists. A very prolific and complete season that attracted several European cadors. Indeed, during the future summer transfer window, Liverpool or Chelsea will be neck and neck to snatch the services of the young midfielder.
8 – Pedri
It has already been dubbed "the signature of the decade" by the Spanish newspaper Marca. The player born in 2002, is a real prodigy on the side of FC Barcelona. He was recruited for only €5 million from Las Palmas. He is a midfielder who knows how to do everything despite his small size (1m74 for 60kg): score, pass, open spaces, defend … It is not for nothing that Barca fans compare him to club legend Andrés Iniesta. Thanks to his qualities and talent, Pedri has become an essential piece in Koeman's system at FC Barcelona. He is one of the Barcelonans who has the most complete season. He played more than 50 games this season, dividing 6 assists and scoring 4 goals. The Barcelona management will have every interest in keeping its nugget in the coming seasons. In 2021, he wore the tunic of La Roja for the first time.
7 –
Not even 18 years old, the precocious Jude Bellingham has impressed Europe this season. Since his transfer to Dortmund, the young midfielder confirms that he is one of the best prospects in his position. BVB had beaten Manchester United at the time by signing him €25 million. Birmingham City had even made the decision to retire Jude Bellingham's No. 22 shirt after his departure from the club last summer. For his very young age, the England international has an impressive volume of play. With a very interesting technique and vision of the game, Bellingham knows how to project himself forward. He also contributes to his team in the defensive task. He is a complete and versatile midfielder, since he can play in several positions in the midfield. He played 45 games this season for 4 goals and 4 assists. BVB wants to keep him at all costs for the following seasons. Finally, Bellingham is the third youngest player to represent the Three Lions. It is therefore in the small papers of Gareth Southgate for the European Championship this summer.
6 – Giovanni Reyna
He undoubtedly one of the young players to follow in the coming years. After Pulisic, it's Reyna. American football is over the moon with this prodigy. The latter is splashing European football because of his talent. Trained as an attacking midfielder, Reyna is also able to occupy the corridors. Very twirling, he dynamites defenses thanks to his technique and his quality of percussion that allow him to pierce the lines ball at the feet.
5 – Eduardo Camavinga
At only 18 years old, Camavinga has already impressed the football world. Just like Pedri, Gravenberg or Bellingham, the player trained at Stade Rennais, is one of the biggest talents in the midfield position. Camavinga is a versatile and complete midfielder, who is able to play in both a defensive and offensive register. His technical qualities, vivacity, interceptions or intelligence of play, allowed him to attract a large number of European cadors. The French international is on the shelves of Bayern Munich, PSG or Real Madrid. He will therefore be able to pack up from Brittany, during the next transfer window this summer. For the second time in a row, Camavinga had a very complete season. He only missed 3 games in 2020-2021 in Ligue 1. On September 8, 2020 against Croatia (4-2), Eduardo Camavinga honored his first selection with the Blues. The 18-year-old became thethird youngest player to be selected by the France in September, before becoming the Blues' second-youngest goalscorer a month later, propelling them into contention for a place at this summer's European Championship.
4 – Ansu Fati
The Spaniard Ansu Fati is one of the biggest cracks in football right now. The player born in 2002 continues to break records.After witnessing Leo Messi's dominance for nearly 15 seasons now, Barca fans are enjoying the early years of Ansu Fati, the one who should eventually succeed the Argentine. To name but a few, he is the youngest goalscorer in the history of Barcelona, the Champions League and the Spanish national team. Nevertheless, his mad rise was cut short by a violent meniscus injury last October. Operated since twice, the young prodigy of Barça struggles to get back on his feet. He had started the season so well with 5 goals and 4 assists in only 10 games. Fati was named the best player in La Liga for the month of September. We will therefore follow his evolution in the coming months, hoping that he will return to the field by next season. Unfortunately, he will not participate in the European Championship this summer.
3 – Alphonso Davies
But what precocity at Davies! At only 20 years old, he had an incredible season in 2019-2020 with Bayern Munich. We all remember his exceptional European campaign on his left corridor, with the coronation at the key. Thesecond youngest goalscorer in Bayern Munich's history is also performing very well this season, despite a 5-week injury a few months ago. He is already one of the best players on the football planet in his position and continues to improve. His technical ease and speed make him a very good attacking player in the left corridor. Being able to play on the left wing but also from time to time on the right, he has a very big ability to dribble and distil caviars to his teammates. He is also a very good defender. It perfectly characterizes the modern side. In 2020, he was crowned best revelation of the season in the Bundesliga. And even more prestigious, he was named to the UEFA Team that same year.
2 – Phil Foden
He is surely one of the biggest revelations of this season. England international Phil Foden has exploded at Manchester City. In the space of a few months, he became a very important part of Pep Guardiola's tactical system. He played 47 games for a total of 14 goals and 10 assists. A complete and very prolific season! He is also one of the major players in the fabulous European course of the Skyblues. He could win his very first Champions League on May 29 against Chelsea, the day after his 21st birthday. A pure product of the Citizens' training centre, Phil Foden plays as an attacking midfielder. Very strong in one-on-one, he is often compared to club legend David Silva for his ease in small spaces. Equipped with a magical left foot, this player is full of talent for his acceleration, passing quality, dribbling, vision, finishing, ball control and creativity. He has everything to become one of the best in the years to come. Symbol of his precocity, he became on April 20, 2019, the first player born in the 2000s to score in the Premier League, and the third youngest goalscorer in the history of the PL.
1 – Erling Haaland
There is no real suspense before announcing the biggest hope of modern football. Indeed, it is the cyborg Erling Haaland. The 20-year-old Norwegian is already one of the best footballers right now. The Golden Boy 2020, once again has an exceptional season. The latter piles up records and goals. In 40 games with BVB, he scored 39 goals and 12 assists. Irrational! He is on the same wavelength as in 2019-2020 when he scored 44 times and dished out 10 assists in 40 games. He will strongly agitate the summer transfer window of 2021, since the latter is courted by the biggest European clubs. From the top of his 1.94m, with his physique of mover, Erling Haaland never ceases to impress. Endowed with exceptional qualities such as his speed, his sense of purpose, his intelligence or his football technique, he never stops working and improving. He is now one of the most promising players on the football planet and could one day become the best footballer in the world. Case to follow!