Who are the youngest players in UEFA Champions League history? We give you the rundown of the 10 youngest to play in the UCL since 1992.
Youngest UEFA Champions League Players
Max Dowman: 15 years, 308 days (Arsenal vs Slavia Prague – 4 Nov 2025)
Youssoufa Moukoko: 16 years, 18 days (Borussia Dortmund vs Zenit St Petersburg – 8 Dec 2020)
Lamine Yamal: 16 years, 68 days (Barcelona vs Antwerp – 19 Sep 2023)
Celestine Babayaro: 16 years, 86 days (Anderlecht vs FCSB – 23 Nov 1994)
Rayan Cherki: 16 years, 102 days (Lyon vs Zenit St Petersburg – 27 Nov 2019)
Alen Halilovic: 16 years, 128 days (Dinamo Zagreb vs PSG – 24 Oct 2012)
Youri Tielemans: 16 years, 148 days (Anderlecht vs Olympiakos – 2 Oct 2013)
Francesco Camarda: 16 years, 226 days (Milan vs Club Brugge – 22 Oct 2024)
Warren Zaïre-Emery: 16 years, 231 days (PSG vs Maccabi Haifa – 25 Oct 2022)
Charalampos Mavrias: 16 years, 241 days (Panathinaikos vs Rubin Kazan – 20 Oct 2010)
Max Dowman: 15 years, 308 days old
Arsenal vs Slavia Prague – 4 November 2025
Max Dowman made Champions League history in November 2025, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in the competition when he came off the bench in Arsenal’s 3-0 win away to Slavia Prague. He remains the only 15-year-old to feature in the competition.
Youssoufa Moukoko: 16 years, 18 days old
Borussia Dortmund vs Zenit St Petersburg – 8 December 2020
Cameroon-born German youngster Youssoufa Moukoko became the youngest player to make an appearance in the UEFA Champions League in December 2020 during Borussia Dortmund’s final group match – away to Zenit.
With the Bundesliga club already having qualified for the knockout stages, Moukoko was given his UCL debut as a substitute in the second half when aged just 16 years and 18 days old, breaking the record – set by by Celestine Babayaro more than 26 years earlier – by 68 days.
The previous month, Moukoko had broken the Bundesliga record as their youngest ever player when coming on versus Hertha Berlin a day after his 16th birthday, replacing Erling Haaland.
Five years later and his record was taken off him by Dowman.
Youssoufa Moukoko
Lamine Yamal: 16 years, 68 days old
Barcelona vs Royal Antwerp – 19 September 2023
Lamine Yamal made his UEFA Champions League debut aged just 16 years and 68 days old when Barcelona hosted Royal Antwerp in the 2023-24 UCL group stage.
The following matchday, Yamal broke the UCL record as the youngest player to start a match in the competition (16 years, 83 days old) when Barcelona faced FC Porto in Portugal.
Earlier the same season, Yamal became the youngest player to score in Spain’s La Liga when he netted for Barcelona against Granada in October 2023 aged just 16 years and 87 days old.
Yamal is one of two players to score in the Champions League for Barcelona aged under 17 years old alongside Ansu Fati, and it’s Fati who currently holds the record as the youngest player to score in the UEFA Champions League (17 years and 40 days old) – one of few records that Yamal has failed to break.
Nevertheless, Yamal did become Spain’s youngest player and scorer when netting on his debut against Georgia on 8 September 2023 at the age of 16 years and 57 days old, outdoing Gavi.
Lamine Yamal
Celestine Babayaro: 16 years, 86 days old
Anderlecht vs FCSB – 23 November 1994
Celestine Babayaro made his Champions League debut for Anderlecht at the age of 16 years and 86 days old. He was the youngest player in the history of the competition for a period of 26 years until Moukoko overtook him in December 2020.
Rayan Cherki: 16 years, 102 days old
Lyon vs Zenit – 27 November 2019
French winger Rayan Cherki became the second-youngest player to make a UCL appearance at the time when he made his competition debut for Lyon on 27 November 2019 at the age of 16 years and 102 days old. He’s since been overtaken by two other players to move down to fourth in the rankings.
Alen Halilovic: 16 years, 128 days old
Dinamo Zagreb vs Paris Saint-Germain – 24 October 2012
Big things were expected of Croatian midfielder Alen Halilovic. He made his debut in the competition at the tender age of 16 years and 128 days old versus Paris Saint-Germain in October 2012 and moved to Spanish giants Barcelona two years later. However, it didn’t work out for the teenager in Spain and he never reached the heights expected of him, eventually ending up at Dutch top-flight club Fortuna Sittard.
UEFA Champions League Stats Opta
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