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Excluding Pele & Maradona, who has accomplished more before turning 20 than Jadon Sancho?
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:00 pm
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:00 pm
12 goals and 18 assists in his age 18 season on a top team in a top 3 league and already with great start for this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi were both showing signs of becoming generational players but didn't do as much at that point of their careers. Ronaldo first showed definitive signs at 20/21 and Messi did it in his age 19 season.
Suarez was on a small Dutch team. Zlatan was still in Sweden for most of his teens and started off slowly with Ajax. Iniesta was mostly a bench player. Xavi became a good supporting player by that age. David Beckham wasn't even on the United side until he was 20. Same with Paul Scholes. Batistuta was in Argentina and not doing anything too amazing. Henry was promising but not at the level of Sancho. Ribery was in the 4th division, I believe. Zizou was playing for Cannes, an unremarkable side.
Of all people, I would say Raheem Sterling and Cesc Fabregas are up there in terms of what they did before turning 20. The other clear choice is Brazilian Ronaldo who was scoring almost a goal a game for 3 years, but these were happening in the Brazilian and Dutch leagues. Neymar is another great phenom, although he also only played in Brazil as a teen. He had great national team stats though. Pogba had one great season with Juve.
A couple of guys who accomplished a lot by 20, but didn't become definitively world class ever, are Emre and Robbie Keane, so it isn't a guarantee that the best 19 year old becomes the best 24 year old, or whatever.
Then you have Buffon who was a Serie A star as a teenager, but it's hard to compare him to the rest. Defenders and goalkeepers aren't going to be seen to frequently in this category. Only other keeper I can think of is Donnarumma. With defenders, Sergio Ramos has to be mentioned.
Excluding the keepers though, I think Sancho is already top 5 (Pele, Maradona, Neymmar and Brazilian Ronaldo) and with a comparable season with Dortmund this year, he could be number 3.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi were both showing signs of becoming generational players but didn't do as much at that point of their careers. Ronaldo first showed definitive signs at 20/21 and Messi did it in his age 19 season.
Suarez was on a small Dutch team. Zlatan was still in Sweden for most of his teens and started off slowly with Ajax. Iniesta was mostly a bench player. Xavi became a good supporting player by that age. David Beckham wasn't even on the United side until he was 20. Same with Paul Scholes. Batistuta was in Argentina and not doing anything too amazing. Henry was promising but not at the level of Sancho. Ribery was in the 4th division, I believe. Zizou was playing for Cannes, an unremarkable side.
Of all people, I would say Raheem Sterling and Cesc Fabregas are up there in terms of what they did before turning 20. The other clear choice is Brazilian Ronaldo who was scoring almost a goal a game for 3 years, but these were happening in the Brazilian and Dutch leagues. Neymar is another great phenom, although he also only played in Brazil as a teen. He had great national team stats though. Pogba had one great season with Juve.
A couple of guys who accomplished a lot by 20, but didn't become definitively world class ever, are Emre and Robbie Keane, so it isn't a guarantee that the best 19 year old becomes the best 24 year old, or whatever.
Then you have Buffon who was a Serie A star as a teenager, but it's hard to compare him to the rest. Defenders and goalkeepers aren't going to be seen to frequently in this category. Only other keeper I can think of is Donnarumma. With defenders, Sergio Ramos has to be mentioned.
Excluding the keepers though, I think Sancho is already top 5 (Pele, Maradona, Neymmar and Brazilian Ronaldo) and with a comparable season with Dortmund this year, he could be number 3.
7
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:18 pm to Keys Open Doors
tGOAT
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:22 pm to wizziko
I knew I would miss someone. Mbappe is definitely third. I would put him above Brazilian Ronaldo, Neymar, and Sancho. Anelka was a guy I was going to mention but he wasn't enough for me to edit the first post, since I think he is more in the Sterling/Cesc class. Oddly enough his age 19 season was his most productive ever.
This post was edited on 8/23/19 at 8:23 pm
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:37 pm to Keys Open Doors
M’bappe Is one and it isn’t close. He won a World Cup and led his team there on top of his club accomplishments.
Sancho has like five caps, no goals, no league titles, etc...
ETA: I completely misread you. You meant put him third behind the two we were excluding lol. I thought you meant behind Sancho my bad lmao
Sancho has like five caps, no goals, no league titles, etc...
ETA: I completely misread you. You meant put him third behind the two we were excluding lol. I thought you meant behind Sancho my bad lmao
This post was edited on 8/23/19 at 8:39 pm
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:41 pm to Keys Open Doors
Freddy Adu was a pro at 14, gtfo
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:45 pm to McCaigBro69
Right, I am saying Pele and Maradona are 1 and 2. Mbappe is 3. Sancho is 6 now but with a comparable season to 2018-19, he just might be the 4th best teenage player of all time.
Again, it doesn't mean a ton, but if the "failures" of the elite teens are guys like Emre, Robbie Keane, Anelka, and Joe Cole, that is still damn good company.
Again, it doesn't mean a ton, but if the "failures" of the elite teens are guys like Emre, Robbie Keane, Anelka, and Joe Cole, that is still damn good company.
Posted on 8/23/19 at 8:58 pm to Keys Open Doors
I think Michael Owen had 18 goals as an 18 y/o and then had that great 98 wc.
Posted on 8/23/19 at 9:03 pm to S
Owen is a great call. Also Robbie Fowler had 25 goals as a 19 year old, just a few years prior.
Posted on 8/23/19 at 9:12 pm to Keys Open Doors
quote:
Only other keeper I can think of is Donnarumma
It should be mentioned that Donnarumma wasn’t just under 20 when he became Milan’s #1.
He was 16.
Posted on 8/23/19 at 9:19 pm to Mr Personality
Yeah, it’s crazy. Buffon was 17 at Parma and was a top 3 keeper in the league by the time Ronaldo debuted with Inter, which is also incredible.
I haven’t watched much of Donnarumma but has he made the leap to a top 3 keeper in Serie A?
Eta: Another player who underachieved later on but played a lot as a teen was Nuri Sahin.
I haven’t watched much of Donnarumma but has he made the leap to a top 3 keeper in Serie A?
Eta: Another player who underachieved later on but played a lot as a teen was Nuri Sahin.
This post was edited on 8/23/19 at 9:21 pm
Posted on 8/23/19 at 11:00 pm to Keys Open Doors
What did Maradona accomplish before turning 20? Why is he definitely top 2?
This post was edited on 8/23/19 at 11:08 pm
Posted on 8/23/19 at 11:05 pm to Keys Open Doors
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/18/25 at 7:50 pm
Posted on 8/24/19 at 4:54 am to Keys Open Doors
Neymar is a youtube whore
Sancho wins games
period
Sancho wins games
period
Posted on 8/24/19 at 7:27 pm to ohiovol
He was the leading scorer of the Argentine league for 4 straight periods (2 seasons) and had more than 70 goals by the end of his age 19 season. He was the player of the year in South America at 19.
Maradona is a terrible human being and a complete failure at life off the field, but from 16 to 30, he was a brilliant player.
Maradona is a terrible human being and a complete failure at life off the field, but from 16 to 30, he was a brilliant player.
Posted on 8/24/19 at 11:25 pm to Keys Open Doors
quote:
Maradona is a terrible human being and a complete failure at life off the field
Yea but who cares
He was one of the best footballers of all time
Posted on 8/24/19 at 11:27 pm to Keys Open Doors
He has plenty of frick ups but Milan has kind of been a shitshow and most “top” Serie A keepers are 30+
Posted on 8/25/19 at 2:02 am to Keys Open Doors
I’m fine with all of that, but I don’t think that makes him surefire top 2 u20 player.
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