16th April 2026
April 16 – Lamine Yamal is once again setting the benchmark for football’s next generation, topping the latest CIES Football Observatory rankings of the best-performing U23 outfield players – at just 18 years old.
The FC Barcelona winger comes out on top of a global study covering 67 leagues, which assesses players based on performance across eight game areas, as well as match level, results and minutes played. It’s a data-driven snapshot of who is actually delivering on the pitch – and Yamal is leading the pack.
Most players in the upper reaches of the list are already established professionals in their early twenties. Yamal, still in the early stages of his career, is already competing – and outperforming – that group.
He is not alone in representing Barcelona. Fellow La Masia graduate Pau Cubarsí ranks as the top centre-back – another nod to the club’s wealth of young talent spilling out of the academy.
Paris Saint Germain’s Warren Zaïre-Emery leads among the wide defender category, while Aleksandar Pavlović (Bayern Munich) and Kenan Yıldız (Juventus) head up the central and attacking midfield standings respectively.
Despite playing outside of the top five leagues, Palmeiras’ Vítor Roque is identified as the leading centre forward in the study, fuelling the flames of a return to Europe for the young Brazilian after his 2023 transfer to Barcelona didn’t work out.
The wider top 100 is dominated by players operating within that top European bracket, with names like Florian Wirtz, Jude Bellingham and Rayan Cherki all featuring in the top ten.
Outside of that cluster of elite sides, AFC Ajax’s Mika Godts, SL Benfica’s Andreas Schjelderup and Club Brugge’s Carlos Forbs, have each been identified as top young stars in their respective leagues, highlighting the continued spread of young talent across the European system and tipping them for a move to a top side this summer.
In the South American talent factory, Roque of course leads the way, while Armando González (Chivas) and Musab Al-Juwayr (Al-Qadsiah) top the rankings in North/Central America and Asia.
For all the data points and methodology, the headline is hard to ignore: Yamal isn’t just a prospect anymore – he’s already performing at the very top end of the game and is a front runner for the Ballon d’Or.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at [moc.l1776330550labto1776330550ofdlr1776330550owedi1776330550sni@g1776330550niwe.1776330550yrrah1776330550](javascript:;)