Vinicius Junior may now be one of the world’s best players but back in 2019, he was just a season into his Real Madrid career.
Joining from Flamengo for a fee of €46 million, the Brazilian has gone on to become one of the most important players at Madrid and is trying to fill the shoes of the many greats that came before him.
But while the Spanish giants paid plenty for Vinicius Junior’s potential, back in 2019 he was not the only promising youngster working their way through the ranks.
Here’s the three other players who won the award for the best under 21 player, the Kopa Trophy, ahead of Vinicius. He did at least attend the ceremony this time…
3. Joao Felix
Picking up 41 points in the vote was young Portuguese wonderkid Joao Felix.
Felix enjoyed a breakout season in 2019-19, scoring a hat trick in the Europa League to become the youngest player ever to do so. Meanwhile in the league, he found the net 20 times as Benfica won the title.
After that performance, Atletico Madrid paid an eye-watering €120 million fee after Antoine Griezmann had opted to move to the Camp Nou.
Felix took Griezman’s number seven but his time in Spain did not get off to the best start after he picked up an ankle injury in October.
However, his performances early in the year led him to being nominated for not only the Kopa Trophy but the Ballon d’Or as well, with him finishing joint 28th alongside Marquinhos and Donny van de Beek.
But since those days, Felix has struggled to live up to his potential. He won Ateltico’s player of the season in 2021-22 but decided to leave the following year and joined Chelsea on loan.
He got sent off in his very first game and a run of just four goals in 20 games led new Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino to opt not to sign the Portuguese player.
After Chelsea, Felix fell out with the Atletico higher-ups and opted for the bold move of telling the world press he wanted to move to Barcelona.
This was news to Barcelona who initially had little interest in the player but once their pursuit of Bernardo Silva and Neymar fell through, Xavi gave the go-ahead to sign Felix.
But seven goals in 30 games was not enough to convince Barcelona to put up the hefty fee Atletico were asking for to sign Felix permanently and there was seemingly only one club willing to do that – Chelsea.
They signed him for €52 million last summer and the move went so well that Felix joined AC Milan on loan in February.
2. Jadon Sancho
Having left Manchester City for Dortmund, Jadon Sancho’s decision was proven to be the correct one when he became one of the best wingers in the world whilst in Germany.
Sancho was named in the 2018-19 Bundesliga Team of the Season and he was named runner-up in both the Golden Boy award and the Kopa Trophy.
But Sancho’s career went off the rails when he agreed a big-money move to Manchester United in 2021.
Arriving for a fee of £73 million, the then 21-year-old failed to recreate the Dortmund form that had made him a star and in September 2023, he had a public falling out with manager Erik ten Hag.
The Dutch coach said Sancho had not been picked due to his “his performances in training” but Sancho publicly refuted that, stating on social media that Ten Hag’s claims were “completely untrue.”
As a result, Sancho was sent to rot in the reserves before he headed back to Dortmund on loan. A brief return to form saw him start the Champions League final against Madrid but Dortmund could not afford the fee United were asking for to sign Sancho permanently.
With Ten Hag still in charge at Old Trafford, Sancho instead moved to Chelsea on loan but with an obligation to buy for £20 million.
But his time at Stamford Bridge has proven to look eerily similar to his games at Old Trafford. He has scored just twice in more than 1,400 minutes of football and has not found the net this year.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
READ: Comparing how long it took Vinicius Junior to score 60 La Liga goals with Messi and Ronaldo
1. Matthijs de Ligt
The 2018-19 season was a breakthrough year not just for Matthijs de Ligt but for a lot of that Ajax side that dazzled in the Champions League.
The Dutch centre-back captained the team against Real Madrid and at 19 years and 186 days old, it made him the youngest player ever to do so.
During that season, Ajax went on an incredible European run, knocking out Real Madrid and Juventus before somehow losing to Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite their semi-final defeat, the Ajax team was lauded and, as is the way of football, quickly dismantled. De Ligt went to Juventus where he won the league before joining Bayern Munich in 2022, again winning the league in his first season.
Last summer, he joined Manchester United and has been unable to match his record of winning the league in his first season. A fee worth €45 million has looked inflated with the Dutchman struggling to find his form.
The Manchester club are currently in the bottom half of the Premier League and relying on a Europa League win to salvage any kind of success this year.
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