Players from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Brighton make up the list of the most valuable under-18 footballers of all time.
If you’re good enough, you’re old enough has been the mantra to follow for some time now, but the demand for young ballers is now through the roof. Teenagers are setting the pace and shattering records for fun, showcasing lofty potential but also putting together iconic seasons in the now.
Using figures from Transfermarkt, we’ve taken a look at the 10 highest-valued under-18s in football history.
10. Evan Ferguson – €65million (2023)
Ferguson has flown under the radar in the last six months or so due to an injury which has derailed his form, but at the height of his form and hype, Transfermarkt valued him at €65million in 2023.
He scored 10 goals in 25 Premier League appearances in his breakthrough 2022-23 campaign and became only the fourth 18-year-old to score a Premier League hat-trick in 2023-24. Still only 19, the sky is the limit.
9. Florian Wirtz – €70million (2021)
Wirtz had already bagged five Bundesliga goals for Bayer Leverkusen before he’d even turned 18, hence his stock being through the roof in 2021.
Despite only being 21, the German midfield maestro has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He tore his ACL in early 2022 and missed 10 months of action at a crucial time for his development, but rediscovered his form under Xabi Alonso and helped fire Leverkusen to a first-ever Bundesliga title before representing Germany at EURO 2024.
8. Vinicius Junior – €70million (2019)
Signing for Real Madrid for £38million the moment he turned 18 ahead of the 2018-19 season, Vinicius arrived with plenty of hype, but actually took some time to get going in the Spanish capital.
Performances were inconsistent and his first season ended with an injury, but the signs were there. It took him a few years, but the Brazilian winger eventually delivered on the promise and he’s now their all-conquering, Champions League final-scoring number seven and in the hunt for his first Ballon d’Or.
A brilliant investment. Baller.
7. Pedri – €80million (2021)
You’d be mistaken for thinking Pedri was the ultimate La Masia graduate; he actually signed for Barcelona from Las Palmas in 2019 and made a first-team breakthrough in 2020-21 under Ronald Koeman, before blossoming into one of their crown jewels in a dark time for the club post-Messi.
He quickly became the second-youngest player behind Bojan to make 50 appearances for the club and won the Golden Boy award in 2021 for his excellent performances for club and country. Injuries have since caught up to him, but the 21-year-old has recently returned to action.
6. Jadon Sancho – €80million (2019)
Leaving Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in search of first-team football might’ve sounded mad at the time, but Sancho’s decision to join Borussia Dortmund very quickly paid dividends as he blossomed into arguably the best young player in world football by 2019.
And then Manchester United came calling.
Four seasons of hard work establishing himself in Germany unravelled incredibly quickly when he headed back to Manchester and was unable to replicate the same form. Sancho was a massive disappointment for United and is now out on loan at Chelsea where he attempts to rebuild his stocks.
5. Jude Bellingham – €80million (2022)
After the success of Sancho, Dortmund went shopping in the English market again and beat United to the signing of 16-year-old Bellingham from Birmingham.
By 18, Transfermarkt had him valued at €80million. Bellingham became the club’s youngest scorer on his debut and smashed accolades for fun during his three seasons in Germany, making 132 appearances, winning the Bundesliga Player of the Season award and becoming the Golden Boy in 2023.
A €103million move to Real Madrid went through in the summer of 2023 and he won the La Liga and Champions League double in his first season. Bellingham’s progression has been so frightening that it’s insane when you remember that he’s still only 21 years old. Twenty-one.
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4. Ansu Fati – €80million (2020)
Fati became Barcelona’s youngest goalscorer at 16 years and 304 days against Osasuna in August 2019 and continued to smash records over the course of the 2019-20 season.
A torn meniscus completely derailed his momentum and resulted in him missing the entire 2020-21 campaign, before returning in 2021-22 as the club’s new number 10 following Lionel Messi’s departure.
That knee injury has continued to plague the Spanish winger ever since, with a loan spell at Brighton not quite reviving his career as many hoped. However, he’s now back in the fold at Barcelona under Hansi Flick and has the chance to write the ultimate redemption story.
3. Gavi – €90million (2022)
Because one generational talent in midfield wasn’t enough, Gavi spawned from La Masia as the perfect partner for Pedri and followed in his footsteps by breaking through and winning the Golden Boy award himself.
La Blaugrana almost nearly lost their homegrown superstar when they were unable to register his new contract, but the issue was ironed out and he stayed put. The 20-year-old has just returned from injury and will no doubt be a huge asset to Hansi Flick.
2. Kylian Mbappe – €90million (2018)
Now football’s biggest star and the latest Galactico at Real Madrid, Mbappe was the brightest talent on the planet in 2018 and Paris Saint-Germain made sure to get a slice of the pie first by snapping him up from Monaco.
2018 was an exceptional year for the forward. As well as his ascension at club level, Mbappe was called up to the France squad and was instrumental as they won the 2018 World Cup, scoring twice against Argentina in the last 16, winning the tournament’s young player award in the process.
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1. Lamine Yamal – €150million (2024)
If you told us in 2018 that a new teenage prospect would burst onto the scene and be touted as worth nearly double than Mbappe in pure value alone, we’d have laughed you out of the building.
Nobody except Barcelona saw Lamine Yamal coming and even when his name did began to emerge, the idea that a schoolboy could break into Xavi’s side was unthinkable. But it happened and now there’s no looking back for the Spaniard, who still isn’t old enough to get a tattoo.
17 caps for Spain, a European Championship and 62 appearances for Barcelona before he’s even 18. Insanity.
