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Pele, Beckenbauer, Owen, Mbappe. They all have one thing in common - all of them have won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award
The FIFA World Cup Best Young Player award has been given to the best young player of the tournament, under the age of 21. Pele is the youngest recipient of the award, when he won it as a 17 year old in the 1958 World Cup. Michael Owen and Kylian Mbappe are the only other teenagers to have won the award.
However, winning the award alone does not always guarantee, as not all award winners have gone on to achieve further success in life. Where are the winners of the last five FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Awards? Read on to find out
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#5 Landon Donovan (USA) - 2002 World Cup (Korea/Japan)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers to arise from the United States of America, Landon Donovan is the only player in this list who has not won the FIFA World Cup.
The American first came into limelight by winning the Golden Ball in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 1999. He then joined Bayern Leverkusen and played for their reserves, as he found it hard to adjust to life in Europe. He went back to the US in 2001, joining MLS side San Jose Earthquakes on loan and immediately helped them win the 2001 MLS Cup
His moment of worldwide fame, however, was in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was held at South Korea and Japan. In his World Cup debut, Donovan and the US shocked the world by defeating Cup Favourites Portugal 3-2. Donovan was involved in one of those goals, when his cross was deflected off Jorge Costa into the goal. The American scored his first goal of the tournament in the next game, a 3-1 loss to Poland.
He scored again in the 2-0 victory over Mexico in the round of 16. Unfortunately, US lost to Germany in the Quarterfinals and Donovan's World Cup Dream was over. Yet, his good performances did not go unnoticed, as Landon Donovan was adjusted the Best Young Player of the tournament. He was 20 years old.
Donovan returned to San Jose and helped them win another MLS Cup, before appearing for the first team at Bayern Leverkusen for one season, where he played 9 games, but could not score. He then joined MLS Galaxy, where he played for almost 11 seasons, winning the MLS Cup 4 times, the Supporter's Shield twice and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup once. It was during this time that he played for Bayern Munich and Everton, both on loan.
He last played for Club Leon in the Liga MX last season. Interestingly, Donovan has retired twice in his career and come out of retirement both time!
With his country, he finished as the Runners Up in the 2009 Confederations Cup and also won the CONCACAF Gold Cup 4 times, however, winning the FIFA World Cup Young Player award was, perhaps, the greatest moment of his life.
#4 Lukas Podolski (Germany) - 2006 World Cup (Germany)
The German Striker started his career at FC Cologne, where he rose through the ranks after joining in 1995 and made his first-team debut in 2003. Ahead of the 2006 World Cup, Bayern Munich signed him up and Podolski went on to have a strong showing at the tournament.
He scored 3 goals, finishing as the second highest goal scorer of the tournament along with a host of a big name. Crucially, his impressive performances saw him win the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award at the age of 21, ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
After the World Cup, Podolski struggled to make the Bayern first team, scoring just 26 goals from 106 games, which saw him return to FC Cologne. In the summer of 2012, the German moved to Arsenal in the Premier League and won the FA Cup in 2014.
After finishing third in both the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, Podolski finally won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, even though he was sporadically involved. After an unsuccessful loan spell with Inter Milan in the 2014/15 season, Podolski ultimately moved to Galatasaray, where he played for 2 seasons.He joined J1 League side Vincent Kobe in 2017, and currently playing for the Japanese outfit, alongside another World Cup winner Andres Iniesta.
#3 Thomas Müller (Germany) - 2010 World Cup (South Africa)
Muller broke into the World Stage of football in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot, scoring 5 goals and also won the FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award, at the age of 20.
Muller joined Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich as a 10-year-old and since making his debut in the 2008/09 season, has been an integral part of the Bayern set-up. The German has been quite successful with his club so far, winning 7 Bundesliga Titles, winning 4 DFB-Pokal, five DLF-Supercup, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. He was an integral part of the German team that won the 2014 World Cup, where he was the second top scorer, again scoring 5 goals.
Since then, though Muller has seen a loss of form with his country. First, he failed to score in the UEFA Euro 2016 and then he failed to score in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Germany crashed out from the group stages. Last season, Muller could score just 15 goals from 45 games and this season, he has managed just 3 goals from 17 games.
#2 Paul Pogba (France) - 2014 World Cup (Brazil)
The Frenchman was already a rising star of Football when he travelled with the French National Team to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
After leaving Manchester United and joining Juventus in 2012, Pogba made steady improvements and was already one of the stars of the team. By time he was appearing for France in the 2014 World Cup, he had already won two Serie A titles and one Supercoppa Italiana. He had also won the 2013 Under 20 FIFA World Cup.
At the 2014 World Cup, Pogba showed class and character, scoring in the 2-0 win over Nigeria in the Round of 16 and even though France were eliminated from the Quarter-finals by Germany, Pogba was adjudged the 2014 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player, at the age of 21.
Pogba endured a mixed 2016 Euros, as he was criticized for a string of poor performances at the start. But he managed to regain his form and reached the finals, only to face defeat at the hands of Portugal. A return to Manchester United was on the cards next, as Pogba became the most expensive midfielder in the world.
His life at Old Trafford has seen both highs and lows. While he won the Europa League and League Cup with United, he was regularly criticized for his poor performances. But Pogba proved all doubters wrong, when he partnered N'golo Kante at the heart of the French midfield at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and became the Champions of the World this summer.
Pogba's indifferent form at Manchester United has continued this season, but he has scored 5 goals and registered 4 assists from 15 games so far.
#1 Kylian Mbappé (France) - 2018 World Cup (Russia)
The French sensation first broke into the scene at AS Monaco in the 2015/16 season, but it was in the next season that Mbappe attracted worldwide attention. He scored 26 goals from 44 games, won the Ligue 1 and secured a loan deal to PSG in the summer of 2017. Last season, Mbappe scored 21 goals in 44 games and secured a treble of Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue!
The Frenchman had already won the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and was selected in the French squad that travelled to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He had a sensational tournament, scoring 4 goals, including a brace against Argentina in the round of 16 and a goal in the final against Croatia.
His speed and qualities on the ball was used to the fullest by his team, as France won the 2018 World Cup. For his efforts, Mbappe was adjudged the 2018 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player. He is just 19 years old.
This season, Mbappe has carried on his sensational form for PSG and has already scored 13 goals in 13 games so far.
