Top 10 best players under the age of 23

It is fair to say that some of the best footballers in the world are under the age of 23. These players have already demonstrated that they have world-class abilities. They have the potential to be among the world's best and some are already considered to be in that category.

Some of these players made their name at the World Cup and some have made their mark at club level. The likes of Ronaldo and Messi made their names before turning 23 while other legends like Drogba were slow starters but eventually made it through.

This article has no particular order to it and all the players on this list are more or less equally talented.

Please leave your comments below to tell us whether we missed out on anyone.

#10 Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)

Kingsley Coman may be injured at the moment, but, when he is fit he is one of the best wingers in the world.

Coman was part of the PSG academy but, he left when his contract expired to join Juventus. On the 30th of August 2015, Juventus approved for Coman to be loaned out to Bayern Munich with the option to buy and Bayern followed through with that option in 2017.

He has not had the easiest time though at Bayern and has struggled with an ankle injury for much of his time. This led to him missing the 2018 World Cup in Russia as his country triumphed.

It will be interesting to see how Coman does in the coming years and whether he is able to get past his injury problems. If he can do this he could become one of the best players in the world. It was sad to see him miss out of the 2018 World Cup but the next one could be much more realistic for him and he could even find his way into the starting 11.

#9 Ruben Neves (Wolves)

Neves is already taking the Premier League by storm

The 21-year-old became the youngest player in Champions League history to captain a team when he captained Porto at the tender age of 18.

He joined Wolves in 2017 for an undisclosed fee. He has since played 47 games for Wolves and scored 7 goals.

Neves has played 7 times for Portugal but did not make the final cut for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It looks like he could play a pivitoal role in Portugal's chances of winning the 2020 Euros.

#8 Dele Alli (Tottenham)

Tottenham Hotspur v Watford - Carabao Cup Third Round

Dele Alli currently plays for Tottenham Hotspur where he has played 111 times scoring 38 goals. He seems to be one of Tottenham's biggest chances of winning a trophy that they desperately need. He has also become a reguar for England and has played 31 times scoring 3 goals.

He has played both at Euro 2016 in France and the World Cup 2018 in Russia where both times he was one of the players expected to do big things. Sadly on both ocassions he struggled to make an impact.

One of the main reasons that Dele Alli is such a success is because of his telepathic undertanding with Harry Kane with both players rubbing off on each other leading to a lot of goals from both.

#7 Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)

Some could argue that Hector Bellerin is one of the best right backs in the World. The 23 year old has absolutley everything in his locker. He has raw pace and he defends maturely. This raw pace has allowed him to get back in time to make vital challenges in games that other right backs just would not be able to do.

However it is fair to say that he has more in his locker than he is showing. An injury in 2017 gave him a bit of a knockback and he has been heavily criticised in the past for his antics off the pitch. He is currently at Arsenal where he has started the 2018/19 season in a very promising manner.

#6 Ousmane Dembele

FC Barcelona v PSV - UEFA Champions League Group B

The 21 year old has taken the whole world by storm. He made a name for himself after joining Bourrisia Dortmund and has not looked back. He joined Barcelona in the summer of 2017, but struggled to make an impact in the 2017/18 season due to an injury. He managed to make the 2018 France World Cup squad however, and won the World Cup.

The 2018/19 season has so far been much kinder to the Frenchman. He has so far played 12 games this season for Barcelona in all competitions scoring 4 goals. The reason Dembele is such a good player is that he has raw pace and is so hard to mark.

Defenders know that if they get the slightest of touches against Dembele then he could earn Barcelona a penalty. This is one of his great skills which singles him out from the rest.

#5 Malcom

FC Barcelona v Boca Juniors - Joan Gamper Trophy

Malcom set the world alight during his time with Bordeaux scoring 20 goals in 84 appearances during his time at the club. This resulted in a range of clubs wanting his services including Arsenal, Barcelona and Roma. It looked certain that Roma would sign Malcom after the club announced that they had signed a deal with the player, however, this was not true with Malcolm ending up joining Barcelona for 41 million euros.

Malcolm looks set to be a star of the future but has sadly not managed to make much of an impact since his arrival at Barcelona. His next step should be to break into the Brazil squad and make sure he becomes a starter for the next World Cup in 2022.

#4 Leon Bailey

Bailey has made a name for himself at Bayern LeverKusen having become one of their most important players. He is currently being monitored by Bayern Munich with the German club looking to sign the Jamacian in the January Transfer window.

He has had the chance to reperesent the Jamacian national team but has turned it down partly because of the poor standard of the team and also because he feels that if he is called up then his brother Kyle Butler should also receive a call up. It still remains rather uncertain whether Leon Bailey could ever play for England due to his grand parent both having UK cinterzenship.

#3 Christain Pulisic

Borussia Dortmund v Benfica - International Champions Cup 2018

Christain Pulisic is an American footballer who currnentley plays for Borussia Dormund in Germany. In April 2016 he became the youngest foreigner to score in the bundesliga and is the youngest USA player to represent them in a World Cup qualifer.

He was signed by Borussia Dortmund at the tender age of 16 and he has not looked back. He is now one of the most important players in the team and is highly regarded as the future of German Football.

#2 Leroy Sane

Cardiff City v Manchester City - Premier League

Leroy Sane is definetley already one of the best players in the world. The Man City winger has made 65 appearances and scored 15 goals for the blues since his arrival in the summer of 2016.

Sane however, did not make the Germany World Cup final squad which was one of the biggest shocks of the footballing season. It will remain interesting to see how he does in the coming season and whether that setback will have affecetd him.

#1. Kylian Mbappe

Liverpool v Paris Saint-Germain - UEFA Champions League Group C

The PSG frontman is undoubtedly aleady one of the best players in the world. Having won the World Cup in Russia with France and being named the young player of the tournament it became clear just how good he really is.

He has started the 2018/19 season in great style scoring 8 goals in only 5 appearances including getting 4 goals in just 1 match. He needs to be careful that he stays grounded because a player that good at that age could all of a sudden become complacent.

The next step for him is to win the UEFA Champions League. This is because he has won the World Cup and the most prestigious trophy in club football has to be the Champions League.

He also needs to at some point in his career leave PSG. I feel he should leave PSG because otherwise he is going to play in the shadow of Neymar.

Edited by Emeka Monyei