The Last 5 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Winners - Where are they now?

#4 Lukas Podolski (Germany) - 2006 World Cup (Germany)

Group A Ecuador v Germany - World Cup 2006

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.