What happened to ESPN's 30 wonderkids tipped to dominate football in 2019
The 30 players picked out by ESPN have experienced very different careers since 2019.
ESPN tipped 30 players under 21 to dominate world football in 2019. Seven years later, where are they now?
As a deep dive into who will replace Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the sport's best players, ESPN named 30 players under the age of 21 they backed to go all the way.
So, what happened to them? Well, SPORTbible took a look at the 30 players included in the list.
10) Luka Jovic
Advert
ESPN compared Jovic to ex-Liverpool and Barcelona forward Luis Suarez for his goal-scoring exploits in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt.
While he secured a high-profile switch to Real Madrid, the Serbian failed to impress in Spain's top flight and even returned to Frankfurt. After spells with Fiorentina and AC Milan, he's now at AEK Athens.
9) Marcus Rashford
At the time of the list, Rashford established himself as a first-team player at Manchester United, having come through the ranks at Old Trafford.
Rashford went onto score a career-high 17 Premier League goals in the 2019/20 season - and matched it in the 2022/23 season, before falling down the pecking order. He fell out with Ruben Amorim, which saw the star forward leave the club to sign for Barca on loan.
8) Gianluigi Donnarumma
Called the heir to namesake Buffon, Donnarumma inspired Italy to European Championship glory, beating England at Wembley Stadium. His heroics in the penalty shootout put him amongst the best goalkeepers in world football.
He has swapped clubs on two occasions since his mention, signing for Paris Saint-Germain then Manchester City.
7) Frenkie de Jong
De Jong earned himself a huge move to Barca after impressing at Ajax. He's in the seventh season with the Catalan giants and is a key player under Hansi Flick's set-up.
6) Vinicius Junior
Viniciur Jr. had just arrived at Real when he was included in ESPN's list. After three quiet seasons, the Brazilian star, likened to Neymar, shot to fame with stunning performances on the pitch, resulting in goals and assists.
He has contributed with 20+ goals in every campaign since the 2021/22 term and is on course to do the same this season.
5) Kai Havertz
Hailed as the most talented German player of his generation, Havertz attracted plenty of interest after making his name at Bayer Leverkusen. He signed for Chelsea, where he scored the winning goal in the Champions League final against Manchester City in 2021.
Havertz joined Arsenal in the summer of 2023.
4) Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alexander-Arnold became a vital cog in the wheel of Jurgen Klopp's footballing make-up and helped his boyhood club to Premier League and Champions League glory.
He called time on his spell at Anfield by signing for Spanish giants Real in the summer of 2024.
3) Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt rose to prominence in a similar way to fellow Ajax academy graduate De Jong, but hasn't had the same continuity as his ex-teammate, given he has bounced from club-to-club-to-club, signing for Juventus, Bayern Munich and Man United.
2) Jadon Sancho
Sancho enjoyed the best season of his career after ESPN's nomination and garnered plenty of interest, with Man United eventually securing his services. But his time with the Red Devils never worked out and was unable to replicate his Borussia Dortmund.
He's in his third loan spell away from Man United, having spent time at Dortmund and Chelsea. He's currently on loan at Aston Villa.
1) Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe topped ESPN's list and was described as a 'future Ballon d'Or winner'. While he hasn't yet got his hands on the prestigious individual award, the Frenchman has shown Ballon d'Or form, scoring 30+ goals across all competitions since being tipped to lead the sport.
He completed his dream transfer to Real in 2024 and continued his ultra-prolific ways, having scored 44 goals in his debut season in Spain. He has an impressive 38 goals to his name this time around.
The rest of the top 30
Leon Bailey, Ezequiel Barco, Rodrigo Bentancur, Federico Chiesa, Ousmane Dembele, Joao Felix, Phil Foden, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Moise Kean, Diego Lainez, Lautaro Martinez, Eder Militao, Exequiel Palacios, Lucas Paqueta, Christian Pulisic, Ismaila Sarr, Youri Tielemans, Sandro Tonali, Cengiz Under, Nicolo Zaniolo.
Topics: Football
Nasir Jabbar