Odegaard, Van de Beek, Dembele: Where are 50 wonderkids from 2016 now?

With Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland around, football will be okay in the post-Messi and Ronaldo era.

Football is blessed with a number of rising stars in the biggest leagues, not least the young Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund strikers.

We’ve seen enough of both players now to realise they are the real deal; they’ve shattered any concerns about being hyped up too soon.

Through natural talent and hard work, there’s no danger of Mbappe and Haaland flaming out before they fulfil their potential. There will likely be a day where both are the highest-paid players in the game.

But that’s not always the case when the stars of tomorrow are explored. Unfortunately, not ever wonderkid turns into a superstar.

With that in mind, GOAL have taken a look at the 50 players they included in their 2016 ‘NXGN’ list, which profiled the best youngsters from around the world at the time.

Some have been hits, others haven’t. Let’s take a look at the 50 players.

50. Rafik Zekhnini 

Where are they now? Zekhnini, 24, joined Molde in 2021 after struggling for games at Fiorentina.

49. Niklas Dorsch 

Where are they now? Regarded as the best player in Bayern’s academy in 2016, Dorsch didn’t make the grade at the Allianz Arena.

He left the club in 2018 and is currently with Augsburg.

48. Ismail Azzaoui 

Where are they now? Injuries have impacted Azzaoui’s career and he was released by Wolfsburg in the summer of 2020. Dutch side Heracles signed him three months later.

47. Nicolas Delgadillo 

Where are they now? Velez Sarsfield have regularly loaned Delgadillo out. He’s spending the 2022 season at Atletico Platense.

46. Thiago Maia 

Where are they now? Flamengo paid €4 million to sign Maia from Lille in January 2022.

45. Steven Bergwijn

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