The Top 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers?

February 12th, 2008 by SM Dev (ste)

With transfer fees becoming increasingly extravagent, more and more clubs are starting to turn to the stars of tomorrow.

There is now nothing more valuable than owning the next ‘wonderkid’ as clubs send their scouts scouring the corners of the globe for these rare gems. And that is not the end of it, as like a rare gem, these ‘wonderkid’ needs to be polished and nurtured before they are ready for the world stage.

Everyone in the world of football knows that Arsène Wenger has developed a successfull policy of recruiting, polishing, nurturing, and displaying the lastest gems. Simply put Wenger has a reputation for unearthing talent, and some of his old gems he has signed have been ‘relatively unknown’ players such as Patrick Vieira, Francesc Fàbregas, Robin Van Persie and Kolo Touré. His nurturing has helped their transition into becoming world-class players.

Towards the end of 2007, World Soccer Magazine published a list of ‘The Top 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers’. This list featured 50 of football’s (alleged) brightest teenage stars, and to make the ranking the player must be under the age of 20 (hence the terms teenage).

World Soccer Magazine’s list in full (please note the list is in no particular order):

Quite an impressive list, and I am sure most people of the SM community are aware of these players within the game, likewise most clubs in Europe will also be aware of these future gems.

Soccer Manager would like to know if you agree with the list published by World Soccer Magazine towards the end of 2007? Also are there any teenagers missed off the list you feel should be on in place of somone else?

Please Note: One or two of these players are now 20 years of age since the list was published, and the list is in no particular order.

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Posted in: World Soccer News, Talent Scout, Players

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75 Comments Add your own

1. Curtis | February 12th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Theo!, Theo!, and where is Lionel Messi?.
2. MACCERS | February 12th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

messi is 20 mate .. technically thats not a teen
3. stevie d | February 12th, 2008 at 5:04 pm

top 10 for da future

1) Pato
2) Bojan
3) Aguero
4) Anderson
5) Dos Santos
6) Toni Kroos
7) Bale
Richards
9) Benzema
10) Kerlon

Wat age is ben afra????

Walcott has no future
4. chris | February 12th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

bojan and aguero are the best
5. robert | February 12th, 2008 at 5:48 pm

ben arfa is 20 and what about sturridge for man city?
6. Goofy | February 12th, 2008 at 5:58 pm

John Fleck of Glasgow Rangers, 16 year old Att Midfielder. Keep an eye on him in the next few years
7. geoff.jennings | February 12th, 2008 at 6:12 pm

anderson and nani are one of the best teean footballers in the world
8. m*k*l* | February 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pm

Nani is great but for me not as good as anderson…wat a player for 19…abslutely great. I also think di santo is good as well.
9. Kris Gosser | February 12th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Jozy Altidore, 18, F, USA.

He destroyed Marquez (Barca’s 94-rated CB) last week in the USA-Mexico friendly. Top 25 forward under 20 in my opinion.

My top 5:

1- Aguero (He IS better than Pato/Bojan/DosSantos!)
2- Pato
3- Bojan
4- Kroos
5- Benzema
10. rob | February 12th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

Nani isn’t a teenager.
11. CARL SPENCER | February 12th, 2008 at 7:32 pm

What about Josh Mimms ?

The young son of Bobby Mimms .. he is slowly leaving his mark on the game.
12. gAv GaV | February 12th, 2008 at 8:21 pm

everyone forgot about denilson??????????? and armand traore, nicklas bendtner, paloschi, cesar villaluz and batuhan.
13. alex | February 12th, 2008 at 8:24 pm

my top 10

1 di santo
2 benzema
3 aguero
4 giovani dos santos
5 pato
6 richards
7 bojan
8 lulinha
9 anderson
10 tejera
14. Yesbruv | February 12th, 2008 at 8:53 pm

1.Bale,
2.Benzema,
3.Anderson,
4.Bojan,
5.Pato,
6.Babel,
7.Sturridge,
8.Walcott,
9.Bendtner,
10,Dos Santos.
15. ukbadboy | February 12th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

most of these players wont even make it as their is 2 much talent abt and new 1s will always be emerging
16. Yohan | February 13th, 2008 at 5:49 am

Where’s Fabregas?
17. faye | February 13th, 2008 at 5:57 am

i think the lists are the new star after the generation of cesc, messi, c.ronaldo if you know what i mean
18. sergiu23 | February 13th, 2008 at 10:39 am

you can add eric bicfalvi from Steaua Bucharest.he’s a real talent
19. Cool Dude | February 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am

RVP ain’t good. And to noobs players like Messi, Fab, and Ronaldo are already promoted to stars!

And this magazine missed out on Nani!
20. JJ C (The Premiership Gold, Leeds United) | February 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

y doesnt SM add some of these players to the database? they deserve to be added on the basis of their recognition of their talent.
21. lewis moore | February 13th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

kroos
aguero
kerlon
lulinha
traore
benzema
bojan
dos santos
nani
anderson
vagner love

no1 leave out sturridge and look at 15-21 over 90 strikers you find jo who will be amazing
22. Kris Gosser | February 13th, 2008 at 5:43 pm

Here’s the picture I was looking for of Altidore beating up on Marquez:

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/02/mr-marquez-i-re.html
23. ac | February 13th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

di santo is the best teenager
24. Dominick | February 13th, 2008 at 8:22 pm

where the hell is mario balotelli??????? or should i say supermario balotelli?
25. Jake Cooper | February 13th, 2008 at 8:22 pm

1.Micah Richards
2.Bojan Krkić
3.Breno
4.Henri Saivet
5.Sergio Aguero
6.Carlos Vela
7.Giovani dos Santos
8.Alexandre Pato
9.Macauley Chrisantus
10.Lulinha
26. oliver | February 13th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Pato is da best but is injured right now. I have to say that theo walcott is very impressive but does not get much playing time at a club that is in 1st.
So my list of top class players in order from 1 - 10 is….
1. Pato (even though injured)
2. Nani
3. Richards
4. Bale
5.Dos Santos
6.Carlos Vela
7.Benzema
8.Breno
9.Walcott
10. Anderson
27. Mitchell | February 13th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

Joe Mattock-Leicester City
28. oliver | February 13th, 2008 at 9:58 pm

I almost forgot about the impressive bendtner and denilson and Fabregas
29. Aaron | February 13th, 2008 at 10:05 pm

What about Royston Drenthe and Agbonlahor (are they teens?)
30. Ronnie Sarris | February 13th, 2008 at 10:37 pm

Balotelli, Pato, Paloschi, Aguero, Richards, Bojan, Dos Santos, Figliomeni
31. robert | February 14th, 2008 at 1:48 pm

my top 10 are:

1.pato
2.aguero
3.lulinha
4.breno
5.anderson
6.bojan
7.dos santos
8.richards
9.kroos
10.sturridge
32. Mohammad Jaberansari | February 14th, 2008 at 2:54 pm

i think for me the best teenagers are LIONEL MESSI, fabregas, ronaldo, pato, aguero, goi dos santos, bojan krkic, babel, anderson, benzema, ben arfa, richards, nani is quite good but not good enough yet and of course cristiano ronaldo!!!!
33. Mohammad Jaberansari | February 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

i forgot about Fernando Torres as well he is just master class!!!!! he is quality!!!!
34. robert | February 14th, 2008 at 11:12 pm

excuse me but how old is torres…..u cant say that he is a teenager.

my top 5

bojan
pato
banega…..why wasnt he mentioned b4?
aguero
vela (ben arfa even if he is 20)
35. josh gamble | February 15th, 2008 at 7:55 am

wheres joe mattock, 17 and in the england u21 englands best left backk
36. nadeem | February 15th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

my best teen footballers are 1-10

1 pato
2 richards
3 fabregas
4 ben afra
5 united player who signed who is 16
6 nani
7 anderson
8 denilson
9 bendner
10 benzema
37. lewis moore | February 16th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

kroos
aguero
dos santos
bojan
nani
sturridge
kerlon
lulinha
anderson
jo
vagner love
vela saivet
breno
fafinha
elber

omoboe will be quality
38. harvey | February 16th, 2008 at 11:02 pm

every1 look up acosta 19 lvl 87 i got bojan for ma team man city for 10mil yay wot a deal
39. woolie | February 17th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

aliadiere is a up and coming teen he didnt do well at arsenal but has found his feet at middlesborough
40. George | February 18th, 2008 at 1:17 am

Buy Now - Sturridge, Galvan, Millan, Mancini, Logan, Lulinha, Randall, Ji-Parana, Chrisantus.
41. chelsea rule | February 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

alberto paloschi of ac milan is amazing!!!!!
42. Matthew Harding | February 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 am

Interesting, probably not in the top 50 but what about Aaron Lennon? And watch out for Jamie O’Hara
43. Prateek | February 23rd, 2008 at 2:48 am

How bout me????
44. Jake Cooper | February 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm

I got Bojan just before he got that rise for 1.9M!!!
45. ernest | February 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am

is Cesar Villaluz in? cause he is quite impressive too as only 19 years old already 88 rating.
46. Ste efc 4 life | February 26th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

Where is Vaughan and Anichebe he has been great in the UEFA cup they both have done well and also what about Giles Barnes
47. matteo | March 7th, 2008 at 2:29 am

Come on People, pay attention:

C.Ronaldo is 23, Vagner Love is 23, Fernando Torres is 23, Ryan Babel is 23, Nani is 21, Cesc is 20, Messi is 20, ben arfa 20 they were all done being teenagers by the time the mag came out. The title is not “50 Most exciting young players,” it’s “50 Most Exciting Teenagers.”
48. sorano inzaghi | March 26th, 2008 at 5:09 am

hable ( fiorentina)
ubry emanuelsen (ajax)
zapata ( udinese)
richards ( manchester city )
kerlon
pato
piatti
49. salvation | March 27th, 2008 at 9:52 am

This is my top 10
Pato
Anderson
Bojan
Ikechukwu
Benzema
Dos Santos
Aguero
Kemit Erasmus
Denilson
50. dan | March 29th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

what about inter milans slavkovski he looks a impressive foward
51. gAv GaV | April 1st, 2008 at 8:47 pm

lucas trecarichi and jahmir hyka they are decent. these are some that haven’t been mentioned : mateo musachio, miguel vitor, conserver fagner, emiliano insua, mark randall, cesar azpilicueta, trinidad diego capel, sotiris ninis, batuhan, thiago heleno, omar esparza (quite a few good young mexicans about), vincent van den berg (he mite be 20), michael woods, mathis zanka jorgensen, m. sakho.
52. gAv GaV | April 1st, 2008 at 8:48 pm

also mads laudrup the son of brian laudrup the legend at real madrid. mads laudrup also has a younger brother coming through aswell.
53. dan | April 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

also balotelli
54. cian | April 26th, 2008 at 8:56 am

balotelli,chrisantus,bojan,kroos,lulinha,pato,aguero,kursa,bostock,jurado,kerlon,nasri,asprilla,garvan (only 15)walcott,vela,renato augusto,anderson,bale and dos santos
55. MH7KiNG | May 11th, 2008 at 3:11 am

Carlos Vela is going to be a beast with Arsenal, just watch!
56. Niall | May 22nd, 2008 at 4:20 pm

Does anybody know i good young right back i could get
57. YT8Fersen | May 27th, 2008 at 1:00 pm

my top 5 on who wil be best
pato
benzema
bojan
aguero
anderson
58. MAN U | June 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

y do people keep sayin nani
he is 21 not a teenager
59. panos13 | June 19th, 2008 at 10:49 am

ninis

lulinha

marcelo moreno

nazarith

carlos eduardo
60. hum | June 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

jack wilshere, nacer barazite, luke freeman, paul rodgers, henri lansbury, rasmussen and emmanuel frimpong have all been very impressive for arsenal’s youth teams this year
61. ash | July 17th, 2008 at 9:45 am

Balotelli the best !!!
62. ross | July 31st, 2008 at 5:49 pm

Iago falque, fernando forestieri, andreas russotto, Henri saivet,
63. Talent Scout: Andrea Russ&hellip | August 1st, 2008 at 2:05 pm

[…] Andrea Russotto will be know to you. This is because World Soccer named him in their list of ‘Top 50 of the worlds best players under the age of 21‘ calling him “the nearest thing Italy have to Roberto […]
64. ross | August 1st, 2008 at 6:16 pm

just look up fernando forestieri and iago falque if u havent heard of them there gonna be awsome chelsea where after iago falque to be there ‘fabregas’
65. tom | August 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 am

how bout Aaron Ramsey and how bout Callejon?
66. Liam | August 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 am

Mamadou Sakho
Henri Saivet
Carlos Vela
Alexis Sanchez
Gerarda Bruna
Guilherme (Striker from Cruizero)
67. GANG-STAR | August 2nd, 2008 at 12:40 pm

your all wrong the best players under 21 are:
1.Leonel MESSI(only 21!!not 22!!-why nobody choose him?)
2.Francesc FABREGAS.
3.Karim BENZEMA.
4.Sergio “KUN” AGUERO.
5.Bojan Perez KRKIC’.
6.Alexandro PATO.
7.Luis ANDERSON.
8.NANI.
9.Turan ARDA.
10.Ivan RAKITIC’.
68. GANG-STAR | August 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 pm

why nobody choose MESSI and FABREGAS exept me?
69. ross | August 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm

everybody knows about messi and fabregas they were exciting a few years ago now they are world class exciting teens are talking about players maybe not known by anyone to stand out over the nexy few years
70. Liam | August 9th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

Anyone can come up with Cesc, Messi and Benzema but the fact they’re not TEENAGERS sort of defeats the point.
71. Kriss | August 11th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

Sebastian Giovinco, Midfielder (Italy Juventus)
THE NEXT BEST THING
72. wilson gay | August 14th, 2008 at 3:11 am

Giampaolo Pazzini,Freddy Adu,Jozy Altidore,Danny Szetela,Jeffrey Sarpong,Bojan Krkic,Befimibi Gomis,Sebastien Giovinco,Vito Mannone,Nikolay Milaytov,Fran Merida,Kieran Gibbs,Damien Plessis,Giles Barnes,Lulinha,Franco Di Santos,Giovanni Dos Santos,Daniel Sturridge…..
73. Valentin | August 18th, 2008 at 4:09 am

I will buy which ever i can.So dont tuch them
74. david | August 23rd, 2008 at 6:44 pm

matija smrekar i paid 20k for him then 1 week later went up by 8 to 80 now worth 2m
morgan schneiderlin of southampton he is only 68 and is in there starting 11 every week and will rise big time
75. tovael | October 12th, 2008 at 7:32 am

TOP 11 UNDER 19
1. BOJAN
2. PATO
3. WALCOTT
4. STURREDGE
5. OBERTRAN
6. FEFEGHOULI
7. KENIA
8. VICTOR MOSSES
9. OZIL
10. FABIO
11. REUBEN NOBLE-LAZARUS ONLY 15, WATCH OUT