September 12 – Spain starlet Lamine Yamal has been ranked as the top teenager in world football by the CIES Football Observatory, who compiled a top-100 list of young players based on experience and ability.
Barcelona’s 17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal leads by some distance. Having shone during Spain’s triumphant Euros campaign, he has quickly becoming not only one of the world’s premier young talents, but one of the best players full stop.
He is joined by teammate Pau Cubarsi at the top of the ranking as Barca’s prestigious La Masia academy takes a one-two placement.
Cubarsi, who was a late snub for De La Fuente’s Spain team, broke through at Barcelona last season aged just 17 and cemented a place in the back line beside Ronald Araujo.
The Spanish duo are followed by Real Madrid’s 18-year-old Brazilian forward Endrick, who Los Blancos acquired for €47.5 million this summer. The player has endured a difficult start to life in Madrid with new signing Mbappe taking his place leading the line, but has already tallied a goal in just nine minutes of LaLiga action.
The top five of the ranking is rounded out by midfield breakthrough talents in PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo, the latter of which started the Euros final in Gareth Southgate’s final match in charge.
Outside of Europe’s traditional ‘Big Five’, the top three emerging talents are Ecuador’s Kendry Páez, currently playing for Independiente del Valle on loan from Chelsea; Brazil’s Estêvão Willian, also a Chelsea loanee plying his trade at Palmeiras; and Turkey’s Yasin Özcan, representing Kasimpaşa.
In total, 38 leagues are featured in the top 100 rankings, with the English Premier League leading the charge with 13 players, closely followed by Ligue 1, which boasts 10 players on the list.
CIES say that the ‘level of experience’ is calculated on the basis of last year’s official game minutes, weighted by the sporting level of matches played.
To see the full ranking, click here.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1732306403labto1732306403ofdlr1732306403owedi1732306403sni@g1732306403niwe.1732306403yrrah1732306403