Top 3 U-23 footballers in the world right now

G

ianluigi

Donnarumma

Every year we see the rise of new youngsters in football, and it doesn't take people long to call them - the next great player but only a few of them live up to the expectations.

Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi were also considered as future stars when they were just 18 or 19 years of age. They did justice to their titles and are now among the greatest players ever to have graced the beautiful game.

In fact, most great players make a name for themselves early in their career but many players such as Chris Eagles, Jese Rodriguez and Robinho never reached the heights, they were expected to reach. In fact, the list of players that didn't live up to their expectations is much longer but we won't discuss that here.

Here we will look at the top 3 youngsters right now who are expected to become more than just stars in the future. We hope that they live up to the expectations and become the very best in the world.

---

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Age - 19

Position - Goalkeeper

Club - AC Milan

Nationality - Italy

Appearance(Club) -135

Clean sheets - 47

Goals Conceded - 148

Regarded as "The future of Milan and Italian Football", Donnarumma is AC Milan's first choice goalkeeper.

At the young age of 16, he joined Milan in the summer of 2015 from Napoli as their third choice keeper but soon started making first team appearances. Impressing everyone with his splendid performances, he became a regular starter for Milan by the start of 2016.

Donnarumma is also the youngest ever goalkeeper to have played for Italy and is considered as the perfect man to replace the legendary Buffon in the national side.

Marco Asensio

Real Madrid's future

Position - Winger / Attacking Midfielder

Age - 22

Club - Real Madrid

Nationality - Spain

Appearances(club) - 184

Goals - 32

Assists - 34

A critical part of Real Madrid's recent success, Marco Asensio is regarded as the future talisman for the whites.

He joined Los Blancos from Mallorca in 2014 but was loaned back to his former club and then to Espanyol. It was only in 2016, that Asensio was unveiled as a first team player for Real Madrid. He soon caught everyone's eye with his brilliant performances and spectacular left-footed long-range goals.

Impressed with his performance, Real Madrid legend and coach at that time, Zinedine Zidane said," Asensio has the best left foot since Messi."

At just the age of 22, Asensio has won many titles with Real including Champions League, La Liga, Spanish and European Super Cups and Club World Cup. He also won the U-19 European Championship with Spain. Asensio played a key role in most of these glories.

Kylian Mbappe

The French Pele?

Position - Winger / Center Forward

Age - 19

Club - PSG

Nationality - France

Appearances(club) - 105

Goals - 48

Assists - 32

At just 19 years of age, Kylian Mbappe had the world under his feet as his phenomenal performance led France to a World Cup glory after a wait of 20 years.

By doing so he won the award for the best youngster in the tournament and broke multiple records in the process. He became the youngest French player in the history to score a goal in the World Cup; He became the second teenager ever to score two goals in a world cup match and to score in the final of the competition, The first being the legendary Pele in both cases.

Kylian Mbappe is also a European U-19 Champion with France.

At club level, Mbappe became the most expensive teenager ever as he joined PSG from AS Monaco for a whopping fee reported to be around €180 million. He has won the French league with both PSG and Monaco. He also won French cup and League cup with PSG last season.