Take a look at football today. We have absolutely fabulous player like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, revolutionary goalkeepers, most notably Manuel Neuer, and our teams are completely brimming with young talent. In 5 to 6 years, football will be at one of the highest standards we have ever seen.
Before I talk more about the footballers, let’s define young. The FIFA World Cup Young Player award is given only to players who are 21 or younger. However, for the purposes of this post we’ll assume that a young player is: A professional footballer under the age of 23. So now we’ve got that out of the way let’s talk about the interesting stuff.
Here are some great young players and their age.
- Paul Pogba (21)
- Mario Götze (22)
- Raheem Sterling (20)
- Thibaut Courtois (22)
- Raphaël Varane (21)
- Romelu Lukaku (21)
- David Alaba (22)
- Jesé Rodríguez (21)
And that is just to name a few. Please don’t choke me if I have missed anyone important because the list could go on forever and it is impossible to name everyone. Now, who is the best on that list? Pogba is already an outstanding player and could win the Ballon d’Or one day. The same goes for Mario Götze. Thibaut Courtois is arguably the second best goalkeeper in the world and has a long way ahead of him. For now we’ll just look at those three.
Mario Götze
Mario Götze. Only 22 and he has already scored the winning goal in a FIFA World Cup final. He has won the Bundesliga an amazing 3 times already, as well as the DFB-Pokal twice. He has also won the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Young Götze’s achievements are absolutely amazing and by far the best of any player under 23. Currently Mario wishes to stay at German champions Bayern Munich but a quick move to another club hasn’t been ruled out.
Achievements: 
Talent: 
Paul Pogba
Young Frenchman Paul Pogba is already off to a flying start to his career. At 21, he has already captained his nation to victory at an Under-20 World Cup, picked up the best player award for that same tournament and received the Best Young Player Award at a FIFA World Cup. Pogba is a regular starter for Italian side Juventus, where he helps score many goals. He is wanted by many huge clubs where he has been offered incredible amounts of money. He has also won the Serie A twice. Imagine what will happen in the rest of his career.
Achievements:
Talent: 
Thibaut Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. He is even shining when there is Manuel Neuer to compete with, and that’s saying something. Courtois is Chelsea’s number 1 goalkeeper of choice and constantly helps his team out with his gravity defying stunts of keeping the ball out of the net. He has won La Liga, as well as the Copa del Rey, UEFA Europa League and a few more things. Once Neuer, who is now 28, retires then that will free up football for Thibaut for the rest of his career.
Achievements: 
Talent: 
Overall Ratings
1. Götze – 17.5
2. Pogba – 17
3. Courtois – 16
Do you agree with our top 3 young talents? Be sure to comment your opinion below. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to follow Real Football for an email whenever we write a post. Thanks!
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