Where are they now? The 10 youngest players to feature in the Champions League
Current Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and PSG stars are among the youngest ever players to feature in the Champions League.
Unsurprisingly, Lamine Yamal makes an appearance on this list, although he’s not the youngest player to feature in the competition.
Since the Champions League was rebranded in 1992, here are the 10 youngest ever players to feature in the tournament.
10. Kenneth Zohore
Aged 16 years, eight months and 19 days, Zohore was younger than the likes of Ansu Fati and Jack Wilshere when he made his UCL debut for Copenhagen back in 2010.
EFL fans will no doubt be familiar with the Danish striker from his stints in the Championship with Cardiff, West Brom and Millwall.
Now aged 31, the striker plays for Fremad Amager in the Danish second division.
9. Charalampos Mavrias
The Greek full-back made his Champions League debut for Panathinaikos in October 2010, aged 16.
Following his breakthrough at an early age, Sunderland signed him for around £3million in 2013, although he barely featured during his three-year stint at the Stadium of Light.
Fast forward to 2025 and the 31-year-old is back playing in Greece for Panetolikos.
8. Warren Zaire-Emery
Since making his Champions League debut in 2022, the teenager has racked up 26 appearances in Europe’s top competition.
Already a fully-fledged international star for France, the future looks very bright indeed for the PSG star.
“I have never seen a player with such intelligence to understand and compensate for what his teammates are doing,” Luis Enrique told reporters last year when discussing the midfielder.
“It’s something that almost no one sees, but it has a lot of value.”
7. Francesco Camarda
The Italian forward made his debut for AC Milan in October last year, aged 16 years and seven months old.
When the teenager scored against Club Brugge, it seemed like the perfect debut – that was until VAR intervened and chalked off his goal.
Camarda is still waiting to score his first professional goal, but the future certainty looks bright for the Milan youngster.
6. Youri Tielemans
The Belgian midfielder broke into the senior team at Anderlecht at 16 and made his Champions League debut against Olympiacos back in October 2013.
After not featuring in the competition for several years, Tielemans was back in the Champions League this year with Aston Villa.
Still just 28 years old, he’s arguably playing the best football of his career right now and will be hoping that Aston Villa can qualify for next year’s competition.
5. Alen Halilovic
The fifth youngest ever player to feature in the competition was Halilovic when he made his debut for Dinamo Zagreb.
Halilovic earned himself moves to Barcelona and AC Milan on the back of his eye-catching early years, although he barely featured for either club.
Following a few years in England with Birmingham and Reading, the 28-year-old now plays in the Netherlands for Fortuna Sittard.
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4. Rayan Cherki
Cherki was just 16 years, three months and 10 days old when he made his Champions League debut for Lyon in 2019.
The tricky winger is still playing for Lyon today, although he’s constantly being linked with the biggest clubs in Europe.
Having produced 31 goal contributions across all competitions this season, there’s bound to be plenty of interest in him this summer.
3. Celestine Babayaro
Babayaro made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht in 1994, aged 16 years, two months and 25 days.
The Nigerian international went on to enjoy stints with Chelsea, Newcastle and LA Galaxy before he ultimately retired in 2010.
Since retiring, the 46-year-old has been working on his various businesses and is also an FA-licensed football agent.
2. Lamine Yamal
When making his Champions League debut for Barcelona in September 2023, Yamal became the second youngest ever player to make an appearance in the competition.
Since then, the teenage superstar has taken his game to a whole new level and is already considered as one of the best players in the world.
In the Champions League, he’s already racked up 23 appearances and has produced 11 goal contributions in that time.
“Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years, and to see him up close really impressed me,” Inter boss Simone Inzaghi told reporters after Barcelona’s first leg against the Italian side.
Still just 17, we dread to think how good he’s going to be in a few years time.
1. Youssoufa Moukoko
Moukoko still holds the title of the youngest player ever in Champions League history.
He made his European debut for Borussia Dortmund back in December 2020, aged 16 years and 18 days old.
Now aged 20, the striker is still on the books at Dortmund today, although he’s spent the 2024-25 campaign out on loan with Nice.