The world’s top 50 most exciting teenagers of 2007 and where they are now including Bale, Ozil… and Fellaini

SERGIO AGUERO, Gareth Bale and Mesut Ozil were all tipped for glory when they were included in World Soccer’s ‘Top 50 Most Exciting Teenage Footballers in 2007’.

They have lived up to their hype with each player winning an abundance of trophies during their career so far, but as expected, most of the starlets failed to hit the heights expected of them.

World Soccer compiled a list of who they believed were the most exciting teenagers in world football in 2007

Here SunSport looks at those that have went on to become world class players, flattered to deceive and those that struggled in the limelight.

HITS

Karim Benzema, now age 31

The French striker – currently at Real Madrid – was named in the list whilst he was at Ligue 1 side Lyon.

Four consecutive league titles earned him a move to Los Blancos in 2009, where he has won two La Liga titles and four Champions League titles.

He is currently on 228 goals for Real – the same amount Thierry Henry netted for Arsenal during his two stints with the Gunners.

Benzema is sixth on the list of all-time top scorers for Real – cementing his legacy as a Bernabeu legend.

Ivan Rakitic, 31

The Croatia star was plying his trade at Schalke in 2007, before he joined Sevilla in 2011.

Barcelona snapped him up in 2014 and he is now recognised as one of the best midfielders in the game.

Since moving to the Nou Camp five years ago, he has featured in at least 51 games per season.

And he’s just 28 appearances shy of becoming Croatia’s most-capped player.

Toni Kroos, 29

The German broke into the first team at Bayern Munich in the 2007/08 campaign, and became a permanent member of the starting XI following a loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen.

Instrumental in helping the Bavarian outfit win the Champions League in 2013, he then helped his country lift the World Cup in 2014.

Real Madrid brought him that summer, with the player since winning a further four European Cups at the Bernabeu.

Angel Di Maria, 31

Although the Argentine flopped at Manchester United, he has been a huge hit at every other club he has been at.

After winning the Portuguese league title with Benfica, the winger moved to Real, where he won La Liga, the Champions League and two Copa del Reys.

PSG then brought him to France after his miserable 2014/15 season in the Premier League, with Di Maria since firing in 77 goals in 198 games.

He was also part of the Argentina squad that finished as runners up in the 2014 World Cup, as well as in the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.

Juan Mata, 31

The Spanish playmaker joined Valencia from Real Madrid in 2007, where he helped Los Che win the Copa del Rey in his first season.

He then swapped Spain for Stamford Bridge in 2011, where he played a starring role in Chelsea’s Champions League final win against Bayern Munich.

The following season saw him pick up the Europa League as well as his his second consecutive Chelsea Player of the Year award.

Manchester United signed him for £37m 2014, with Mata again getting his hands on the Europa League, as well as the FA Cup and League Cup,

Oh and let’s not forget he won the World Cup and European Championship with Spain.

Gareth Bale, 30

There was a time when Bale couldn’t even get in the Spurs squad with Harry Redknapp fearful his side would lose if he had played.

But his incredible 2012-13 season – when he was named Young Player, Players’ Player and FWA Player of the Season – saw him move to Real for an world record £85m.

Despite Los Blancos fans slating him, he has been nothing short of superb for the Spanish side.

He has won every available trophy he could win for Real and and has banged in 104 goals in 238 matches.

Bale has also inspired Wales to international glory, leading the side to the semi-final of Euro 2016.

Former Southampton star Gareth Bale has gone on to become one of the world’s best playersCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil divides opinion, but he has been a definite hit after winning an abundance of trophies during his careerCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Sergio Aguero, 31

A goal-scoring machine wherever he has been, Aguero has been one of Europe’s top strikers for the best part of a decade.

He banged in 101 goals in 234 games for Atletico Madrid, before joining Manchester City in 2012, where he is already the club’s all-time top scorer with 244 goals.

Aguero has been instrumental in all four of City’s Premier League title-winning campaigns – netting at least 30 goals in each of those seasons.

The Argentinian has shown no signs of slowing down, already scoring eight this season, and will go down as one of the finest foreign players to ever grace the English top-flight.

Mesut Ozil, 31

Often criticised for not trying hard enough and failing to turn up in the big games, Ozil has undoubtedly been a hit.

His dazzling displays at the 2010 World Cup earned him a move to Real Madrid, where he won the La Liga in 2012.

Arsenal then forked out a then-record £42.5million deal for him in 2o13 – with Ozil helping the Gunners to their first trophy in nine years in his first season.

He has won a total of three FA Cups, while he was also a crucial part of the Germany squad that won the World Cup.

Now seemingly frozen out of the Arsenal squad by Unai Emery, Ozil will always create chances for any side he plays for.

Also in the hit list: Alexis Sanchez, Ever Banega

MISSES

Franco Di Santo, 30

Big things were expected of the Argentinian forward in 2007 when he already established himself as the main striker at Chilean side Audax Italiano.

Chelsea snapped him up on a four-and-a-half year deal, and although he was an unused substitute in their 2009 FA Cup final triumph, he played just 16 times for the Blues’ first team.

Wigan signed him after the player had a failed loan spell at Blackburn, and even though he won another FA Cup during his spell with the Latics, the most goals he registered in a single season was seven strikes.

He then moved to Germany where he donned the shirts of Werder Bremen and Schalke, but in six years in the Bundesliga, he netted just 22 league goals.

Di Santo is now at Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro.

Franco Di Santo failed to score in any of his 16 games for Chelsea during the 2008/09 seasonCredit: PA:Empics Sport

Micah Richards, 31

Richards was touted as a future England star after he became the youngest-ever Three Lions defender to make his debut when he stared against Holland in 2006.

He made his Manchester City debut at the age of 17 – where he netted a dramatic equaliser against Aston Villa in the FA Cup to force a replay.

But he began to pick up injuries and his form dropped off, and even though he won the 2012 Premier League title with the Citizens, he was forced out of the side by Pablo Zabaleta.

He joined Aston Villa in 2015, but played in just 31 games, before he announced his retirement in July at the age of 31.

Fran Merida, 29

Signed by Arsenal from Barcelona in 2007, the Spanish youth international was one of the most highly sought-after teenagers.

His high point for the Gunners was his emphatic long-distance strike against Liverpool in 2009.

After just 16 games in three years he moved to Atletico Madrid in 2010, but after two seasons he was flogged off to Braga in Portugal, where he made just five appearances.

Spells at Huesca and Atletico Paranaense followed, before he joined Osasuna in 2016, where he still plays.

Fran Merida was dubbed as a future star, but he has failed to live up to his early expectationsCredit: Graham Hughes – The Times

Carlos Vela, 30

Another Arsenal flop, the Mexican seemed to be primed for greatness following his goalscoring exploits in the League Cup, but he never showed what he could do in the Premier League.

He joined Real Sociedad in 2011 after a failed loan spell at West Brom, with the player featuring in 250 games for the Basque outfit.

Vela has since flourished in the MLS with LAFC, netting an astonishing 53 goals in 68 matches to show that he has always been capable of fulfilling his destiny.

Giovani dos Santos, 30

Tottenham thought they signed a future world-beater in 2008 when they nabbed the Mexican winger from Barcelona.

Four goals in 38 games during the 2007/08 season for Barca led people to believe he would be a sensation in England, but his stay was a disaster.

He scored just three times in 33 games for Spurs, though he did bang in four goals in eight games for Ipswich during a loan spell.

Always on the move, he has played for the likes of Galatasaray, Racing Santander, Mallorca and Villarreal.

Like his compatriot Vela, he moved to the MLS to play for LA Galaxy, before returning to his native Mexico to join America.

Giovani dos Santos flopped at Spurs during his miserable spell in North LondonCredit: AFP

THE INBETWEENERS

Marouane Fellaini, 32

Fellaini was already a Belgiium international when named in the list in 2007, with Everton signing him from Standard Liege in 2008.

Red Devils fans were left scratching their heads when they signed him in 2014, with supporters often scapegoating him when results didn’t go in their favour.

But he still managed to win the Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup, and United have certainly missed his presence since his switch to Chinese side Shandong Luneng in January.

Theo Walcott, 30

Part of the England World Cup squad when he was just 17, Walcott had fans thinking he was a future Ballon d’Or winner.

The expectation of him was immense after he signed for Arsenal from Southampton in January 2006, and even though he was a regular for the Gunners, he never materialised into a world class winger.

His record for Arsenal is impressive with 108 goals in 397 games, while he has also won the FA Cup three times.

He’s now at Everton, but is struggling for form with the forward without a goal this season.

Fans love to criticise Marouane Fellaini, but he has been an important player wherever he has beenCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Bojan Krkic, 29

Three La Liga titles and two Champions League-winning medals show that Bojan was certainly a player of immense talent.

But his spell at the Nou Camp coincided with the meteoric rise of Lionel Messi, and there was no room for the player who also had to battle for a place in the line-up with Pedro.

And he’s never been the same player since leaving Catalonia – failing to show his worth at the likes of Roma, Ajax, AC Milan, Mainz and Alaves.

Where do you go to rediscover your form? The MLS.

He has netted three goals in eight games so far for Montreal Impact.

Alexandre Pato, 30

Heralded as the new ‘Ronaldo’, the Brazilian striker was a goal machine at AC Milan between 2007-2011, before he dramatically lost form by the time he was 22.

The 2009 Golden Boy Award winner returned to Brazil in 2013, before Chelsea bizarrely signed him on loan in 2015, where he netted once in two games.

A failed spell at Villarreal saw him move to China, where his goalscoring exploits earned him a move to Brazilian giants Sao Paolo.

Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato rapidly fell out of form at AC Milan and hasn’t been the same player sinceCredit: EPA

Anderson, 31

Another Golden Boy Award winner, the Brazilian midfielder is best remembered for his time at Manchester United between 2007-2015.

During that time he won four Premier League titles and the Champions League, but featured just 181 times as he failed to justify his £20million price tag.

He announced his retirement from football last month at the age of 31 following an awful campaign at Turkish second division side Adana Demirspor.

Other notable Inbetweeners: Gregory van der Wiel, Renato Augusto, Fabio Coentrao

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk