What Happened To The 11 Wonderkids Named as Best U18 XI Back in 2016

A decade ago, Spanish publication Marca tipped 11 wonderkids to be future stars of football - and the players have had vastly different careers since.

The year of 2016 saw Leicester City crowned as English top division champions for the first time in their history.

Barcelona won La Liga by one point ahead of Real Madrid, while Juventus, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain were in top in Italy, Germany and France respectively.

The 2016 Champions League winners were Real Madrid, who defeated fierce rivals Atletico on penalties.

In terms of players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were still firmly dominating world football, with the likes of Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema, Neymar and Gareth Bale among a very much La Liga-themed roll of honour as the best players in the world.

In terms of today's stars, Mohamed Salah completed a permanent move to Roma from Chelsea after a loan spell, Kylian Mbappe had just broken through into Monaco's first team, Jude Bellingham started year 10 of high school in Edgbaston, and Lamine Yamal was still in primary school.

Mbappe - then still going by his full name of Kylian Mbappe Lottin - headlined a team of 11 wonderkids created by Marca in January 2016.

Marca's class of 2016

In goal for the team was AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was hardly an outlandish choice given that he had already become Milan's first-choice shot-stopper despite not turning 17. He's now, of course, at Manchester City, having won the Champions League with PSG last season.

At centre-back was Liverpool's Joe Gomez, who had signed for the Reds from Charlton in the previous summer.

The then 18-year-old started his Liverpool career at left-back, but was actually recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury when Marca named their team, and would gradually be moved into his favoured central defensive position upon his return.

Alongside him was West Ham's Reece Oxford, who produced a star display on Premier League debut in 2015 as the Hammers won 2-0 away at Arsenal.

He earned early comparisons to Rio Ferdinand but was never quite able to kick on before signing for Bundesliga side Augsburg.

Oxford was a first-team regular for several seasons and looked like he was realising some of his potential, but hasn't played a first team match in three years due to various injury problems and issues relating to COVID-19. He's now a free agent.

At left-back was Kieran Tierney, who earned a move to Arsenal in 2020 off the back of impressive performances in Scotland for Celtic.

He's now back with the Scottish champions, having left Arsenal on a free transfer this summer amid a continued lack of game time.

At right-back was something of a wildcard selection in Romania right-back Cristian Manea, who was on the books at Cypriot side Apollon Limassol.

He never made a senior appearance for the club, with transfer links to Chelsea ultimately proving to be false. Manea has spent most of his career in Romania and, after four years with CFR Cluj, is now at Rapid Bucuresti.

In midfield, former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves - who had already captained Porto at 18 - was included, alongside Anderlecht's Youri Tielemans and Benfica's Renato Sanches.

Ruben Neves’ goal compilation at Wolves is disgusting🔥 pic.twitter.com/zKWvqYGdrU

— PurelyFootball ℗ (@PurelyFootball) June 20, 2025

Tielemans made the move to English football with Leicester in 2019 after a spell at Monaco, and has been a key player for Aston Villa since joining them on a free transfer two years ago.

Neves is still with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal after leaving Wolves in 2023, while Sanches is still on the books at PSG but hasn't played for them in two years.

The Portugal midfielder had a torrid four-year spell at Bayern Munich between 2016 and 2020, before getting his career back on track by winning a surprise Ligue 1 title with Lille and switching to PSG in 2022.

He's now on loan at Greek side Panathinaikos, having had loan spells at Roma and Benfica in the last two seasons.

Up front in the team was Monaco's Mbappe, who needs little further introduction now that he is a 'Galactico' at Real.

Likewise, former Real winger Martin Odegaard, who lines up on the opposite flank, is now Arsenal captain and one of the top creative midfielders in the Premier League.

Up front is Dominic Solanke, who sealed a £60 million move from Bournemouth to Spurs last summer and is now one of English football's most consistent goalscorers, via spells at Chelsea, Vitesse and Liverpool.