Need Doue was one of many teenage stars of final season as he helped Paris St-Germain win the Champions League for the primary time.
Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, one other teenager, was named within the crew of the competitors.
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However which younger stars can be impressing on this 12 months’s match?
The Champions League is again – with matches this week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And BBC Sport has taken a have a look at 10 youngsters that can be aiming to make their mark this season.
Vasilije Adzic (Juventus)
In making his Juventus debut in October 2024, Vasilije Adzic was the primary Montenegrin participant to look for the membership since Mirko Vucinic greater than a decade earlier (April 2014) [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Midfielder. Nationality: Montenegrin.
Montenegro midfielder Vasilije Adzic joined Juventus on a three-year deal in 2024 after serving to Buducnost Podgorica win the league title in his residence nation in his first season when solely 16.
He performed 9 instances for Juve in 2024-25, together with one Champions League look, and performed of their Membership World Cup loss to Manchester Metropolis on 26 June.
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Adzic has already represented his nation, scoring on his debut, on 9 June, in a 2-2 draw towards Armenia.
Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham was the one teenager to each rating and help a purpose on the 2025 Fifa Membership World Cup [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Midfielder. Nationality: English.
Identical to Jobe Bellingham moved from England to Borussia Dortmund, leaving Sunderland in the summertime after serving to them win promotion from the Championship.
Jobe Bellingham, who value the German giants an preliminary £27m, performs largely as both a defensive or box-to-box midfielder, though he did sometimes function as a centre-forward for Sunderland.
He has represented England at under-21 stage and can be again in his residence nation for the Champions League, with Dortmund dealing with away video games at Manchester Metropolis and Tottenham.
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Claudio Echeverri (Bayer Leverkusen, on mortgage from Manchester Metropolis)
Claudio Echeverri was one in every of solely 5 gamers to attain from a direct free-kick on the 2025 Membership World Cup (together with Lionel Messi, Reece James, Jhon Arias and Bryan Gonzalez), whereas he was the youngest of the 5 to take action (19 years, 172 days for Manchester Metropolis towards Al-Ain). [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Attacking midfielder/winger. Nationality: Argentine.
Manchester Metropolis followers can be very eager to see how Claudio Echeverri will get on throughout a season-long mortgage at Bayer Leverkusen. Metropolis do have the choice to carry the Argentine again to Etihad Stadium in January in the event that they want to.
Echeverri joined Metropolis in a £12.5m deal in January 2024, however remained on mortgage again at River Plate for the subsequent 12 months. He made his Premier League debut on the ultimate day of the 2024-25 season after which made a substitute look in Metropolis’s FA Cup closing loss to Crystal Palace.
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He scored his first Metropolis purpose in model with a beautiful free-kick towards Al-Ain in the course of the Membership World Cup in the summertime.
Jorrel Hato (Chelsea)
Jorrel Hato supplied six assists within the Eredivisie final season; the joint-second highest quantity by a defender within the competitors, solely behind Utrecht’s Souffian El Karouani (eight) [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Defender. Nationality: Dutch.
On the age of 19, Jorrel Hato has performed greater than 120 membership video games and represented the Netherlands senior crew on six events.
Hato, who can play both at full-back or in central defence, made his debut for Ajax at 16 and captained the facet when solely 17 – changing into the youngest Ajax captain in a European match.
Final season his performances led to him being named the highest under-21 participant within the Dutch Eredivisie earlier than a £37m transfer to Chelsea in August.
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George Ilenikhena (Monaco)
George Ilenikhena is the third-youngest scorer in Champions League historical past (17 years, 119 days v Barcelona in December 2023), behind solely Ansu Fati (17 years, 40 days) and Lamine Yamal (17 years, 68 days) [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Striker. Nationality: Nigerian / French.
Quick and highly effective striker George Ilenikhena’s profession is progressing at a fast fee.
He had a spell within the French second division with Amiens, then had a superb marketing campaign in 2023-24 at Royal Antwerp, whom he helped win the Belgian Tremendous Cup in 2023.
After getting 14 objectives in 49 video games in that season, he moved to Monaco. He has scored towards Barcelona within the Champions League in each of the previous two seasons – in Antwerp’s 3-2 win in December 2023 on the age of 17, after which once more in Monaco’s 2-1 victory in September 2024.
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Franco Mastantuono (Actual Madrid)
On matchday one of many 2025-26 marketing campaign, Franco Mastantuono might turn into the youngest Actual Madrid participant to start out in a Champions League sport (18 years, 33 days), in addition to the second youngest Argentine to start out within the competitors, after Lionel Messi in December 2004 (17 years, 166 days for Barcelona towards Shakhtar Donetsk). [Getty Images]
Age: 18. Place: Midfielder. Nationality: Argentine.
Actual Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono is thought to be one of many brightest prospects in world soccer.
On 13 June, Actual introduced that Mastantuono would be a part of the membership on his 18th birthday, 14 August, signing a six-year deal after they comply with pay his £39m (45m euros) launch clause to purchase him from River Plate.
He made his worldwide debut for Argentina aged 17 in June and has performed in all three of Actual’s La Liga matches up to now in 2025-26.
Senny Mayulu (Paris St-Germain)
Senny Mayulu (19 years, 14 days) grew to become the third-youngest participant to attain in a European Cup or Champions League closing after Patrick Kluivert for Ajax towards Milan in 1995 (18 years, 327 days) and Brian Kidd for Manchester United towards Benfica in 1968 (on his nineteenth birthday) [Getty Images]
Age: 19. Place: Midfielder. Nationality: French.
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On the age of 19, Senny Mayulu has two French Ligue 1 titles to his identify, has gained two French Cups, scored in Paris St-Germain’s Champions League closing victory and performed within the closing of the Membership World Cup.
He made his skilled PSG debut in 2024 and has represented France at Underneath-20 stage.
Midfielder Mayulu has largely been used as an alternative choice to PSG, however enhanced his rising repute when got here off the bench to attain the membership’s fifth purpose of their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan within the Champions League closing in Might.
Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool)
Rio Ngumoha is the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool’s historical past, netting towards Newcastle on the age of 16 years and 361 days [Getty Images]
Age: 17. Place: Winger / attacking midfielder. Nationality: English.
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Rio Ngumoha was at Chelsea’s academy earlier than he moved to Liverpool in 2024 and was solely 16 when he made his debut for the Reds, in a 4-0 FA Cup third-round win over Accrington in January 2025.
Quick, direct and skilful, Ngumoha scored very good particular person objectives in pre-season this summer time towards each Yokohama and Athletic Membership.
He then secured his place within the Reds’ file books in August by changing into their youngest scorer within the Premier League along with his winner within the thrilling 3-2 victory over Newcastle – with the purpose coming 4 days earlier than his seventeenth birthday.
Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
Solely Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen (9 objectives every) scored extra objectives for a Premier League membership in all competitions earlier than turning 18 than Ethan Nwaneri did (eight) [Getty Images]
Age: 18. Place: Attacking midfielder / winger. Nationality: English.
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After coming by way of the ranks of Arsenal’s academy, Ethan Nwaneri, on the age of 15, grew to become the youngest participant to look in England’s prime flight when he featured towards Brentford in September 2022.
He began in 16 matches in all competitions for Arsenal in 2024-25, with one other 21 appearances instead, with him scoring 9 objectives, together with two within the Champions League.
His performances led to him being nominated for the PFA Younger Participant of the Yr award and in the summertime he helped England win the European Underneath-21 Championship.
Geovany Quenda (Sporting)
Geovany Quenda is the youngest Portuguese participant ever to start out a Champions League match (17 years, 140 days towards Lille in September 2024), in addition to the youngest starter for Sporting within the competitors [Getty Images]
Age: 18. Place: Winger / wing-back. Nationality: Portuguese.
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Chelsea followers can be watching Geovany Quenda carefully this season because the skilful Portuguese winger can be becoming a member of the Blues subsequent summer time for a payment of as much as £44m.
He performed an integral half as Sporting gained the league and cup double in 2024-25, along with his transfer to Chelsea introduced in March.
Quenda then impressed on the European Underneath-21 Championship, scoring three objectives for Portugal and being named within the crew of the match.
Watch highlights of each Champions League sport from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport web site and app.
There may also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.