What happened to the 50 players L'Equipe named the best young footballers on the planet in 2017

Back in 2017, French outlet L'Equipe named their 50 best young talents in world football. But what are they doing now?

In the same year, Cristiano Ronaldo would be crowned as the Ballon d'Or winner ahead of Lionel Messi and Neymar, while Real Madrid won their record-extending 12th Champions League title.

In the Premier League, Leicester entered the year as reigning champions but would be displaced by Antonio Conte's Chelsea by the end of the 2016/17 season.

Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, was enjoying his breakout season at Ligue 1 side Monaco, while Vinicius Junior hadn't made his senior debut for Flamengo until May of that year. At 16 years old, meanwhile, Erling Haaland signed for Molde in 2017.

While two of those names were included on L'Equipe's list, let's take a look at the full total of 50 players, and where they all are now.

• Marco Asensio - The 29-year-old Spaniard signed for Real Madrid in 2014 and made over 200 appearances for the club. Moved to PSG in 2023 and is currently on loan at Aston Villa.
• Dele Alli - The former Tottenham and England star signed for Serie A side Como in January after a lengthy spell away from football due to injury.
• Kylian Mbappe - The 26-year-old joined Real Madrid in the summer on a free transfer after a goal-laden spell at PSG.
• Ousmane Dembele - The 28-year-old was briefly the joint-second most expensive player of all time when he signed for Barcelona in 2017. Injuries have held him back since but Dembele is flourishing at PSG this season, having scored 33 goals in all competitions and reached the Champions League final.

• Gianluigi Donnarumma - Another player who is currently at PSG after leaving boyhood club AC Milan in 2021, and is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
• Gabriel Jesus - The 28-year-old striker is currently on the sidelines with an ACL injury but has been a consistent presence in the Premier League with Manchester City and Arsenal since 2017.
• Leroy Sane - The 29-year-old has just won his fourth Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich after leaving City, where he won eight trophies in three years, in 2020.
• Kingsley Coman - Scored the winning goal for Bayern in the 2020 Champions League final win over PSG. The 29-year-old played 41 games in all competitions for Vincent Kompany's side this season, scoring seven times.
• Marcus Rashford - The 28-year-old forward is, like Asensio, on loan at Aston Villa, with his future at parent club Manchester United uncertain.
• Timo Werner - The 29-year-old is currently in the midst of a disappointing loan spell at Tottenham which has seen him score once all season. Has a Champions League winners' medal from his time at Chelsea.
• Christian Pulisic - Initially failed to deliver at Chelsea but the 26-year-old American is now at AC Milan, where he has scored 32 goals in two seasons.

Image: Twitter/@OptaJack

• Kasper Dolberg - Was a hot prospect at Ajax but cooled down until a move to Anderlecht in 2023. The Danish striker is being linked with a move to newly-promoted Premier League side Leeds after netting 24 goals this season. Also suffers from type 1 diabetes.
• Julian Brandt - Only has a DFB-Pokal win to his name in terms of trophies, but the 29-year-old midfielder has provided 21 assists and scored 12 goals in his last two seasons with Borussia Dortmund. Perennially linked with Liverpool but never made the move to England.
• Jonathan Tah - The 29-year-old defender played a key role in Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten Bundesliga season in 2023/24. Looks likely to leave on a free transfer this summer.
• Dani Ceballos - Now enjoying life at Real Madrid, via an 18-month loan spell at Arsenal, but is still not a first-team regular under Carlo Ancelotti.
• Youri Tielemans - The Belgian midfielder currently plays for Aston Villa after successful spells at Anderlecht, Monaco and Leicester.
• Benjamin Henrichs - The 28-year-old right-back's career briefly stalled after leaving Bayer Leverkusen for Monaco but he's bounced back with RB Leipzig.
• Franck Kessie - Became one of the first major European players to depart for the Saudi Pro League last year when he left AC Milan for Al Ahli.
• Davinson Sanchez - The centre-back is now at Galatasaray after a six-year spell at Tottenham.
• Patrik Schick - Once the scorer of a stunning halfway line goal against Scotland at Euro 2020, the Czech striker has smashed in 27 goals in all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen this season.
• Malcom - The Brazilian had a one-year spell at Barcelona between 2018 and 2019 before leaving to join Russian side Zenit. Now plays for Al Hilal.
• Cristian Pavon - The 29-year-old Argentinian winger never signed for a team in Europe, spending eight years at Boca Juniors before spells in Brazil with Atletico Mineiro and current club Gremio. Also had a successful loan spell at LA Galaxy in 2019/20.
• Kai Havertz - Now at Arsenal after a mixed spell at Chelsea, which did see him score the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final.

• Amadou Diawara - Once linked with major Premier League clubs while at Napoli and Roma, the 27-year-old Guinea midfielder is now playing for Spanish second-tier side Eldense.
• Alex Iwobi - The 29-year-old Nigeria international has transitioned into midfield since his time as a winger at Arsenal. Now a key player at Fulham, via a stint at Everton, and has nine goals and six assists to his name in the Premier League this season.
• Andreas Christensen - Left Chelsea to sign for Barcelona on a free transfer in 2022, and won La Liga in his first season. The centre-back has missed most of the current campaign through injury.
• Moussa Dembele - The former Fulham, Celtic and Lyon star was one of Steven Gerrard's first signings for Al Ettifaq in 2023.
• Theo Hernandez - The Frenchman is one of the world's top attacking left-backs with AC Milan after deciding to leave Real Madrid in 2019.
• Kelechi Iheanacho - Big things were expected of the Nigerian after he signed for Leicester from Manchester City, but he's drifted out of the side in recent seasons and spent the second half of this campaign on loan at Championship side Middlesbrough, scoring once.
• Renato Sanches - Premier League fans will remember the Portugal midfielder for his unforgettable loan spell at Swansea, but Sanches found his feet in some style at Lille after leaving Bayern Munich, winning the Ligue 1 title. He's now on loan at Benfica after being deemed surplus to requirements at PSG.

Image: Instagram/Renato Sanches

• Jesus Vallejo - The Real Madrid academy graduate has been a long-standing squad member at the Bernabeu but played more games in a loan spell at Girona than he has for Real in 10 years.
• Alban Lafont - Now first-choice goalkeeper at Ligue 1 side Nantes after spells at Toulouse and Fiorentina.
• Sebastian Driussi - The 29-year-old Argentinian striker has scored goals wherever he's been at River Plate, Zenit and Austin FC, and is now back at River for his second spell.
• Matthijs de Ligt - Now at Manchester United following spells at Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich.
• Lorenzo Pellegrini - The Italian midfielder was a favourite of Jose Mourinho at Roma and still captains the club, having made over 300 appearances in all competitions.
• Wilfried Ndidi - Once one of the Premier League's highest-rated young midfielders after signing for Leicester in 2017 but has not reached the same heights in recent years. Looks likely to leave the Foxes this summer after suffering another relegation to the Championship.
• Kieran Tierney - The left-back has been a victim of Mikel Arteta's 'inverted' system at Arsenal but still has plenty to offer when he receives rare playing opportunities. Set to return to Scotland with former club Celtic this summer.
• Mahmoud Dahoud - Once linked with Liverpool, the 28-year-old Germany international spent six years with Dortmund before an unsuccessful spell at Brighton. Now plays for Bundesliga side Frankfurt.
• Manuel Locatelli - One of Juventus' top stars and won Euro 2020 with Italy for his first international trophy.
• Carlos Soler - Currently plays for Premier League strugglers West Ham after leaving PSG on loan. Previously spent six years with Valencia.
• Diogo Jota - Recently secured his first Premier League title with Liverpool and remains a key part of Arne Slot's plans.

Image: Twitter/@DiogoJota18

• Lucas Hernandez - The France centre-back, who can also play at left-back, has helped PSG to reach the Champions League final but has had major issues with knee injuries in recent seasons.
• Nico Elvedi - The Swiss centre-back has played his club football for Borussia Moenchengladbach for the past 10 years, racking up over 350 appearances.
• Mikel Oyarzabal - The 28-year-old has spent his entire career at Real Sociedad and captains the club. He's also now a regular member of the Spain side and helped them to win Euro 2024 last summer.
• Caglar Soyuncu - Best known to English football fans for a successful spell at Leicester, before the Turkish centre-back left the club to sign for Atletico Madrid following their last relegation to the Championship.
• Emanuel Mammana - Once tipped for big things by Football Manager but had little success in Europe with Lyon or Zenit, and the centre-back is now back in Argentina with Velez.
• Enes Unal - The Turkey striker is currently at Bournemouth in what is his second Premier League spell after a brief stint with City between 2015 and 2017.
• Nadiem Amiri - The midfielder spent five years at Leverkusen and helped the club to win the Bundesliga last season before moving to fellow top-flight club Mainz.
• Andre Onana - In his second season at Manchester United after arriving from Inter Milan, but his future looks in doubt after a difficult campaign.
• Moise Kean - The Italian looks to have finally settled at Fiorentina, scoring 24 goals this season. Has played for PSG (where he scored 17 goals in a single season), Juventus and Everton.