From Anderson to Martial, What happened to previous winners of European Golden Boy award!
The shortlist has been revealed for the 2018 Golden Boy — the award to honour the best young player in Europe in the past 12 months.
Awarded since 2003 by Italian magazine Tuttosport, for some of the game's best players it has been the first significant individual honour during trophy-littered careers. But it has also been handed to some players who shot to fame before spectacularly failing to live up to their early promise.
Here, Sportsmail profiles each of the winners, recalling what happened next; whether they lived up to their potential, or fell somewhat short...
2003 - Rafael van der Vaart
The Dutch midfielder became the inaugural winner while at Ajax, who he helped in the 2002 domestic double while still a teenager. He went on to play for Hamburg (twice), Real Madrid and Tottenham, showing flashes of brilliance but often hampered by injuries and lacking fitness. Now aged 35, he plays for Danish top-flight club Esbjerg.
Clubs: Ajax, Hamburg (twice), Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Betis, Midtjylland, Esbjerg
Major honours: 2x Eredivisie (2002, 2004), 2002 Dutch Cup
International: Holland, 109 caps, 25 goals
2004 - Wayne Rooney
There could have been no arguing with Rooney as the 2004 selection, after his phenomenal performances at the European Championship and his £25million move to Manchester United, where he scored a hat-trick on his debut. He went on to win virtually every major trophy available at Old Trafford and became England's all-time record scorer - and as he showed recently at DC United, he can still turn it on occasionally.
Clubs: Everton (twice), Manchester United, DC United
Major honours: 2008 Champions League, 5x Premier League (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), 2016 FA Cup, 4x League Cup (2006, 2009, 2010, 2017), 2009 Club World Cup, 2017 Europa League
International: England, 119 caps, 53 goals
2005 - Lionel Messi
Of all the Golden Boy alumni, there can be no doubt that Messi has had the best subsequent career. He had only just turned 18 when he won the award but was already a first-team regular. The following years speak for themselves: nine La Liga titles, six Copas del Rey, four Champions Leagues, five Ballons D'Or, and an endless supply of tricks, entertainment and stunning goals.
Clubs: Barcelona
Major honours: 5x Ballon D'Or (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015), 4x Champions League (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015), 9x La Liga (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018), 6 x Copa del Rey (2009, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018), 3x Club World Cup (2009, 2011, 2015), 3x UEFA Supercup (2010, 2012, 2016)
International: Argentina, 128 caps, 65 goals
2006 - Cesc Fabregas
Fabregas, as an 18-year-old, made 49 appearances for Arsenal in the season when he won this honour, although his taking of Patrick Vieira's No 4 shirt weighed heavily as he assumed immense responsibility. He has since carved his own niche as a much more creative midfielder and has won major trophies for the Gunners, Barcelona and Chelsea - not to mention the 2010 World Cup with Spain.
Clubs: Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea
Major honours: 2010 World Cup, 2x European Championships (2008, 2012), 2x Premier League (2015, 2017), 2x FA Cup (2008, 2015), 2015 League Cup, 2013 La Liga, 2012 Copa del Rey, 2012 Club World Cup
International: Spain, 110 caps, 15 goals
2007 - Sergio Aguero
Atletico Madrid were happy to allow Fernando Torres to join Liverpool as they knew they had a star waiting in the 19-year-old Argentine striker. Although he made his name in Spain, it is with Manchester City where Aguero has become an icon with three Premier League titles, most memorably when he scored the last gasp winner on the final day of 2011-12.
Clubs: Independiente, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City
Major honours: 3x Premier League (2012, 2014, 2018), 3x League Cup (2014, 2016, 2018), 2010 Europa League, 2011 UEFA Supercup
International: Argentina, 89 caps, 39 goals
2008 - Anderson
The biggest oddity on this list. Anderson was a Champions League winner by this point by virtue of a 119th-minute substitute appearance in Moscow against Chelsea (remarkably he scored a penalty in the shootout victory), but he struggled to maintain a regular place in the Manchester United team throughout seven and a half years (but winning five league titles in that time). Now is in footballing obscurity with Turkish second-division side Adana Demirspor - and he's still only 30.
Clubs: Gremio, Porto, Manchester United, Fiorentina (loan), Internacional, Coritiba (loan), Adana Demirspor
Major honours: 2008 Champions League, 4x Premier League (2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), 2x League Cup (2009, 2010), 2x Portuguese League (2006, 2007), 2009 Club World Cup, 2007 Copa America
International: Brazil, nine caps
2009 - Alexandre Pato
One of the older winners of this award, by virtue of being 20 when he received it, Pato lit up Serie A for three seasons with AC Milan before a series of nasty and unfortunate injuries curtailed his progress. He moved to Corinthians in Brazil in 2013, and his only appearances in Europe since have been a loan spell at Chelsea - he played twice in five months, scoring once - and 14 league games at Villarreal. At only 28, however, he still has time to prove himself.
Clubs: Internacional, AC Milan, Corinthians, Sao Paolo (loan), Chelsea (loan), Villarreal, Tianjin Quanjian
Major honours: 2011 Serie A, 2x Club World Cup (2006, 2007), 2006 Copa Libertadores
International: Brazil, 27 caps, 10 goals
2010 - Mario Balotelli
When Balotelli received his award, he claimed Messi was the only previous winner better than him and that he had never heard of second-placed Jack Wilshere. It set a tone for a career that has been controversial, outrageous and certainly never boring. High points include winning the Premier League with Man City and three successive Serie A titles at Inter Milan; the low ebb was an abysmal year with Liverpool.
Clubs: Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan (twice), Liverpool, Nice
Major honours: 2010 Champions League, 2012 Premier League, 2011 FA Cup, 3x Serie A (2008, 2009, 2010), 2010 Coppa Italia
International: Italy, 35 caps, 14 goals
2011 - Mario Gotze
Gotze is still only 26 but risks following Van der Vaart, Anderson and Pato into the injury-plagued, what-might-have-been category. At his best he has been a boy wonder at Borussia Dortmund, then the dominant creative force in a trophy-hoarding Bayern Munich side and scorer of the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final. But his diagnosis with myopathy - a disease that causes fatigue and weight gain - explains his patchy fitness.
Clubs: Borussia Dortmund (twice), Bayern Munich
Major honours: 2014 World Cup, 5x Bundesliga (2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016), 4x German Cup (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017), 2014 Club World Cup
International: Germany, 63 caps, 17 goals
2012 - Isco
While most of the players on this list won the award at some of the world's biggest clubs, Isco was terrorising La Liga defences for relatively lowly Malaga when he was named Europe's Golden Boy. After helping them to the Champions League quarter-finals, Real Madrid paid his release clause and he has been battling for a first-team spot amid fierce competition ever since. Aged 26, he is on the verge of becoming one of the world's greatest playmakers and is loved by fans at the Bernabeu.
Clubs: Malaga, Real Madrid
Major honours: 4x Champions League (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018), 2017 La Liga, 2014 Copa del Rey, 3x Club World Cup (2014, 2016, 2017), 3x UEFA Supercup (2015, 2017, 2018)
International: Spain, 32 caps, 11 goals
2013 - Paul Pogba
After leaving Manchester United due to a lack of first-team opportunities, Pogba won the Golden Boy award after his first full year of senior football, in which he helped Juventus to the Serie A title. A then world-record £89m move back to Old Trafford and a World Cup winner's medal are among the highlights to follow - and all before you sense we have really seen his very best.
Clubs: Manchester United (twice), Juventus
Major honours: 2018 World Cup, 2017 League Cup, 4x Serie A (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016), 2x Coppa Italia (2015, 2016), 2017 Europa League
International: France, 60 caps, 10 goals
2014 - Raheem Sterling
The third-youngest player ever to represent Liverpool, Sterling was awarded the Golden Boy having already made 100 senior appearances. His £49m transfer away from Anfield drew ire and put him at the centre of controversy, but he proved to be a great signing for Manchester City. He was a standout performer in City's 100-point season and then helped England to the last four at the 2018 World Cup aged just 23.
Clubs: Liverpool, Manchester City
Major honours: 2018 Premier League, 2x League Cup (2016, 2018)
International: England, 44 caps, two goals
2015 - Anthony Martial
Martial, now 22, picked up his Golden Boy award a few months after becoming the most expensive teenager of all time when Manchester United forked out up to £58million to sign him from Monaco. He made a fast start under Louis van Gaal and was top scorer in his first year at Old Trafford, but his relationship with current manager Jose Mourinho has taken a nose dive. Remains to be seen where his future lies and if he will ever live up to that enormous price tag.
Clubs: Monaco, Manchester United
Major honours: 2016 FA Cup, 2017 League Cup, 2017 Europa League
International: France, 18 caps, one goal
2016 - Renato Sanches
Potentially another Anderson - and maybe even worse unless he can transform the current direction of his career. Sanches was selected for the award after being named young player of the tournament at Euro 2016, which Portugal won with him in central midfield. That earned him a move to Bayern Munich, where he struggled so much that he was sent out on a shock loan to Swansea, where he again flopped. Now back at Bayern, he has time on his side aged 20 but will need a big boost in confidence.
Clubs: Benfica, Bayern Munich, Swansea City (loan)
Major honours: 2016 European Championships, 2017 Bundesliga, 2016 Portuguese League, 2016 Portuguese League Cup
International: Portugal, 13 caps, one goal
2017 - Kylian Mbappe
The footballing world was introduced to Mbappe when he helped fire Monaco to a surprise Champions League semi-final, earning him a first Golden Boy. The rest of the world got to know him when he ripped Argentina apart in the 2018 World Cup and later scored in the final against Croatia. A historic second gong surely awaits a player who, aged only 19, has already cost Paris Saint-Germain an incredible £166m transfer fee.
Clubs: Monaco, Paris Saint Germain
Major honours: 2018 World Cup, 2x Ligue 1 (2017, 2018), 2018 Coupe de France, 2018 French League Cup
International: France, 22 caps, seven goals