The 10 Most Valuable 18-Year-Old Soccer Players of All Time—Ranked

The modern transfer market has never been more obsessed with potential than with proven pedigree, and nowhere is that clearer than in the valuations placed on players who have only just reached adulthood. Using Transfermarkt’s widely referenced crowd-sourced estimates—figures that several top-flight clubs have cited in official paperwork—here are the ten most valuable footballers at the exact moment they turned 18.

1. Lamine Yamal By his 18th birthday, the Barcelona prodigy had already amassed 106 senior appearances for the club, 25 goals, two La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey, a Spanish Super Cup and a European Championship winner’s medal with Spain, crowned by the goal of the tournament in the semifinal. His valuation is the highest ever recorded for an 18-year-old.

2. Pau Cubarsí Still 18 when he logged appearance No. 100 for Barcelona, the composed centre-back has been trusted by Hansi Flick to anchor a high-risk offside trap. Calmness has been Cubarsí’s calling card since youth football, when he once watched the rest of an U-11 match from the touchline after a red card rather than protest the decision.

3. Lennart Karl Bayern Munich’s breakthrough midfielder impressed with decision-making that belied his age, but a headline-grabbing slip at a supporters’ event—he named Real Madrid as his “dream club” and asked fans to “keep that between us”—served as a reminder that he is still a teenager. Any future move would command a premium fee.

4. Gavi The Spain international made his senior debut for La Roja at 17, prompting Italy defender Emerson Palmieri to admit, “I didn’t know him.” Within a year Gavi was among the planet’s most coveted midfielders.

5. Warren Zaïre-Emery Despite competing for minutes with three Ballon d’Or-nominated midfielders at Paris Saint-Germain, the French teenager started more than half of the club’s league fixtures at 18. Agent Jorge Mendes predicts his client could one day lift the trophy himself.

6. Endrick Real Madrid paid Palmeiras €47.5 million for the striker a year before they signed compatriot Estêvão, continuing a South American shopping spree designed to avoid a repeat of the Neymar miss. Endrick’s first 18 months in Madrid brought only one La Liga goal, leaving him closer to forgotten Reinier than to Vinícius Júnior or Rodrygo at the same stage, but time remains on his side.

7. Jude Bellingham Valued at €55 million the day he turned 18, the Englishman’s €103 million move to Real Madrid 12 months later already looks a bargain: 23 goals, 13 assists, La Liga and Champions League titles arrived in his debut Spanish season.

8. Ethan Nwaneri The Premier League’s youngest-ever debutant at 15, Nwaneri has been shielded from hype by Mikel Arteta, who likens the teen’s development to careful bricklaying. The patient approach has not dented his market value.

9. Estêvão Chelsea locked in an initial €34 million deal with Palmeiras while the winger was still 17; by the time UK work-permit regulations allowed him to move after his 18th birthday, his valuation had soared. Teammates praise both his dazzling talent and humility, though the Brazilian concedes that “the hardest challenge has been the weather” in London.

10. Ansu Fati Once Lionel Messi’s heir apparent at Barcelona, Fati’s valuation peaked within days of his 18th birthday. A meniscus rupture against Real Betis in November 2020 sidelined him for ten months; he has never regained the explosive form that had Europe on alert.

Transfer fees have spiralled across every age bracket, yet the premium placed on youth has never been more extreme. As Robert Lewandowski, 37, observed last year: “You are young, you score 10 goals in six months and some club will pay 60 or 70 million. Before, you had to achieve something.” In today’s market, potential alone is the ultimate currency.