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The average age of Real Madrid’s starting XI in the final of the 2017-2018 UEFA Champions League was close to 30 and six players in the starting XI are 30 plus. These six players are Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Keylor Navas.
Under these circumstances, it is obvious that the club has to start building for the future and they have been doing that in a very efficient manner.
The likes of Isco, Raphael Varane and Dani Carvajal are in their mid-20s and there are several more squad players who are in the same age category. However, they do need more players to take the place of their ageing stars in the future and this is why Real Madrid have invested heavily in a few teenage players with huge potential in recent years.
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On that note, take a look at 6 teenagers at Real Madrid who have a bright future ahead of them:
#6 Andriy Lunin
Age: 19
Position: Goalkeeper
A goalkeeper from Ukraine may not seem like the biggest prospects in European football, but Lunin is definitely one to watch out for and Real Madrid have beat several other European clubs to his signature.
Lunin made his debut as a 17-year-old for Dnipro in 2016/17 when the club was facing relegation and severe financial issues. In fact, the club sold a majority of their stars including goalkeeper Jan Lastuvka.
Although Dnipro was heading for impending relegation thanks to the 24 points that were deducted due to several reasons, Lunin starred between the sticks keeping 10 clean sheets and conceded just 23 goals in 25 games.
Once Dnipro were relegated, Zorya Luhansk picked him up on a free transfer and he exceeded expectations by uprooting the first choice goalkeeper, Oleksiy Shevchenko.
The 6 ft 3-inch tall goalkeeper also made his debut for Ukraine last year and is expected to be Ukraine’s first choice goalkeeper in the coming years.
#5 Martin Ødegaard
Age: 19
Position: Attacking midfielder/Winger
Ødegaard has been at Real Madrid for over three years now and he’s still a teenager. He has only made two appearances for the first team since joining the club in January 2015 and spent most of his time with the Castilla.
In January 2017, Real Madrid sent Ødegaard on loan to SC Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie on an 18-month loan spell for him to gain experience playing senior football.
Ødegaard didn’t start well at Heerenveen and was benched towards the end of the 2016/17 season. However, he became a regular starter for the club in the 2017/18 season, starting 24 games for a Heerenveen side that finished 8th in the league.
He had an impressive WhoScored rating of 7.36 last season which was the highest in his team and the 15th overall in the league. In fact, Arber Zeneli had the next highest rating from Heerenveen with 7.14 and he was placed 42nd in the league!
#4 Federico Valverde
Age: 19
Position: Midfielder
Valverde is one of the biggest prospects from Uruguay. He signed for Real Madrid Castilla in 2016 from his local club Penarol and spent the last season on loan at La Liga side Deportivo La Coruna.
It was probably his performance at the U-20 FIFA World Cup in 2017 that caught the eye of Deportivo. He was awarded the Silver Ball at the tournament for being the second best player as Uruguay finished 4th.
A few months after his exploits at the U-20 level, he was called up to the Uruguay senior team. On his debut, against Paraguay in a FIFA World Cup qualifier, Valverde scored the first goal of the game in an eventual 2-1 win.
He played 25 games for Deportivo last season and was included in the provisional World Cup squad but was left out of the final 23-man list.
The Uruguayan is known for his ball retention abilities and tackling skills. He likes to spray the ball from deep in midfield to pick out runners and also take a pop at goal from distance.
#3 Achraf Hakimi
Age: 19
Position: Right-back
Hakimi is the most popular name on this list because he has already played 17 games for the senior team.
The Madrid-born Moroccan right-back was promoted to the senior team in August 2017 as a backup to Dani Carvajal and got more chances than he would have hoped for owing to injuries to Carvajal, Varane and Sergio Ramos. The injuries to the two main centre-backs meant that Nacho couldn’t fill in at right-back for Carvajal.
Hakimi started 14 games and made three further substitute appearances in all competitions for Real Madrid last season, scoring twice and assisting once. His contribution to the team meant that he picked up a UEFA Champions League and Club World Cup winners’ medal.
Although he was born in Spain, he plays for Morocco at the senior level and became an integral member of the team in the last year. He has already played a dozen games for his country and is currently representing them at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
#2 Rodrygo Goes
Age: 17
Position: Forward
Rodrygo is an academy product of Santos, the same academy that trained Neymar and Robinho among many other stars.
The 17-year-old is still a Santos player, but Real Madrid already have an agreement in place for his transfer which will see him join the club officially in June 2019 for a rumoured fee of €45 million!
The fact that Real Madrid spent such a hefty amount on a player who has played just 31 games and scored 9 goals for Santos, so far, alone must suggest that he is special. There was also interest from other clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid did the smart thing of tying him down while allowing the player to continue his development unhindered.
Goes has drawn parallels with Brazil’s superstar Neymar and understandably so. His pace, dribbling, trickery and tendency to cut inside are all reminiscent of the World’s most expensive player.
He made history this year by becoming the youngest player to score in a Copa Libertadores match aged just 17 years, 2 months and 6 days.
#1 Vinícius Júnior
Age: 17
Position: Forward
Real Madrid signing Rodrygo for €45 million was not really surprising because they signed Vinicius Junior for the exact same fee a year ago.
Vinicius will turn 18 in July and it is only then that his Real Madrid contract will come into effect as the that is the minimum age for an international transfer. However, it remains to be seen if Los Blancos will allow him to continue with Flamengo to help him progress further.
According to the player, he chose Real Madrid over Barcelona.
"I chose Real Madrid because it's the biggest club, I've always chosen to play among the best, and with help from Marcelo and Casemiro, I made that choice. They messaged me, called me ... always saying that the best have to play with the best”.
Vinicius has all the typical attacking traits you would associate with a Brazilian forward but it is his hardworking nature, composure and humility that makes him stand out. For a player who is only 17, he received a lot of praise for how he handled the fame and expectations that came after his transfer to Real Madrid was announced.
He has already scored 14 goals in 69 games for Flamengo and was exceptional for Brazil at the U-17 level, scoring 17 times in 19 goals.
