Cristiano Ronaldo predicted five youngsters to dominate world football 10 years ago, and only one is still at the top level
Ronaldo named five of the best in 2015.
A decade ago, Cristiano Ronaldo named the five players he thought could continue to dominate world football – but only one of his picks is still playing at the top.
The 39-year-old, who is considered one of the greatest players of all time, started at Sporting Lisbon before rising to prominence during his first spell at Manchester United. He then embarked on an on-pitch rivalry with Barcelona striker Lionel Messi during his time in La Liga with Real Madrid, before going to Juventus, another half at United and Al Nassr, where he currently plays.
There was a time when Ronaldo was considered one of football’s best prodigies, with his generation dominated by himself and Messi.
That era is now coming to an end, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Junior and Erling Braut Haaland now starting to take over the mantle as top players in world football.
Back in 2015, Ronaldo gave his views on who he thought could lead the way in the years to come – and while some of the names he gave him achieved significant success since then, others have been less fortunate.
In a sitting interview with BT Sport, the Portuguese forward started strong, pointing out his then-Real Madrid teammate Martin Ødegaard as a player he thought could shine.
When he was 16 years old, the midfielder had joined Los Blancos from Strømsgodset.
During the interview, Ronaldo warned: “He has a good future ahead of him. We have to give him time to learn, to make his best decisions. But I see a lot of potential in the player, he has a good left foot.”
Ronaldo went on to name Eden Hazard, who had recently won the Premier League title with Chelsea and the league’s player of the season. The Belgian replaced Ronaldo at Real, but had four poor and special seasons at the Bernabeu, where he scored just seven goals in 76 appearances.
After being released from his contract last summer, Hazard announced his retirement from football at the age of 32.
Ronaldo also chose Paul Pogba, with the Juventus midfielder set to be named UEFA’s Team of the Year at the beginning of 2016.
After a club record move to Manchester United, the Frenchman lifted two trophies in his first season, but things eventually went downhill at Old Trafford and he rejoined Juventus. He is currently clubless after Juventus agreed to terminate his contract in November last year.
Ronaldo’s fourth choice was Memphis Depay, who took Ronaldo’s old number seven shirt at United when he arrived in the summer of 2015.
He was not successful at United, but found top form at Lyon and earned a move to Barcelona in the summer of 2021. The Dutchman now plays for Brazilian side Corinthians.
In the end, Ronaldo chose then-Barcelona striker Neymar as one of his future football stars.
While hardly the most surprising choice, given the Brazilian’s ascension to soccer star already at this point, it looked like the winger would dominate world football for years to come.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way after a world record change to PSG, who were supposed to finally land Neymar’s first Ballon d’Or.
After failing to add to the Champions League title he won with Barca, he joined Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal in a transfer worth €95 million.
