Kroos, Pato, Muller: What happened to the best teenage XI from 2009/10?

Last Saturday evening, Toni Kroos was crowned European champion for a fifth time.

The German international played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid‘s 1-0 final victory over Liverpool at the Stade de France.

Kroos’ trophy cabinet now boasts five Champions Leagues, three La Ligas, three Bundesliga titles, a World Cup and much, much more.

Not bad, eh? He’s had quite the career and it seems Kroos was always destined for greatness.

At the end of the 2009/10 season, the metronomic midfielder was named in WhoScored‘s highest-rated teenage XI following a successful campaign on loan at Bayer Leverkusen from Bayern Munich.

Kroos certainly wasn’t the only high-profile name to feature in the team either. It was stacked with iconic figures.

Check out the XI in full…

De Gea burst onto the scene as a teenager at Atletico Madrid and then signed for Manchester United in 2011. The Spaniard has been brilliant for much of his time at Old Trafford and will go down as one of the club’s greatest ever goalkeepers.

Azpilicueta was a regular in Osasuna’s starting XI at the age of just 17. The man capped 55 times by Spain then moved to Marseille in 2010, before securing a move to Chelsea two years later. He’s become something of a legend at Stamford Bridge over the past decade, captaining the club to Europa League success in 2019 and a Champions League triumph in 2021.

Nkoulou hasn’t quite been the success many hoped. Sure, he was decent for the likes of AS Monaco, Marseille, Torino and the Cameroon national team, but never quite fulfilled his full potential. The 32-year-old spent last season at relegated Watford, making just three appearances in total. He’ll become a free agent this summer.

A Liverpool fan favourite for a few years, Sakho’s