The U23 crop in the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League is simply absurd. From Kazakhstan to north London, this season has thrown up a set of young players who are not just ones for the future but actual, functioning main characters in the biggest club competition on the planet. Some are already on your radar. A few probably are not. Yet.
Let’s take a proper look.
These youngsters are lighting up the Champions League
Temirlan Anarbekov – Kairat Almaty, 22, Goalkeeper
Anarbekov’s Champions League introduction has been far better than anyone outside Kazakhstan expected. Two games, one clean sheet, double-digit saves, and a level of calm that suggests he’s far more seasoned than a 22-year-old keeper should reasonably be. He reads shots early, holds crosses instead of punching, and distributes crisply to relieve pressure. Kairat’s group situation has forced him into busy evenings, but he’s handled the chaos with surprising authority.
Désiré Doué – Paris Saint-Germain, 20, Midfielder/Attacker
Doué is a star. He proved that with his Champions League final performance last season, with his two goals and assist really putting him on the world map. Due to injury, he has been limited to only one Champions League outing this season to show his quality: 45 minutes, two goals, and a performance full of direct running and clever angles. It was the sort of explosive cameo that makes coaches rethink their lineups and forces defenders to take notice. Even in a star-studded PSG side, he has that ability to inject pace and incision as soon as he steps onto the pitch.
The domestic pathway is well known. A Rennes academy graduate with a mature, glide-based style, Doué’s blend of power, technique, and intelligence earned him a move to Paris, where he’s gradually earned trust across competitions. His ability to play as an eight, ten, or wide attacker gives him versatility few his age possess. But it’s those UCL flashes – those sharp, fearless moments in front of goal – that hint he could become a fixture rather than an accessory in PSG’s long-term plans.
Lamine Yamal – Barcelona, 18, Winger
Yamal’s Champions League numbers this season tell the whole story: multiple goals, an assist, and more than 250 minutes where he looked like he’d been playing this competition for years (he almost has). He attacks defenders with zero hesitation, manipulates space like a seasoned veteran, and contributes consistently in Barcelona’s build-up. The precision in his passing and the calm he shows in crowded penalty areas are simply absurd for someone who only recently turned 18.
Only after you process the UCL brilliance do you remember the rest: the La Masia rise, the international breakthroughs, the records tumbling on a weekly basis. Domestically he’s already entrenched as a key figure, the sort of do-everything wide player managers dream about. What makes him special is how normal he makes extraordinary performances look.
Estêvão – Chelsea, 18, Attacking Midfielder / Winger
Estêvão’s Champions League contribution so far, four matches, a couple of goals, and regular involvement in Chelsea’s attacking sequences, speaks to a player who’s skipped several steps on the development ladder. He plays without fear, constantly showing for the ball, slipping into pockets, and snapping quick shots whenever he finds half a yard. For someone new to European nights, he looks remarkably settled.
Chelsea brought him in as part of their push toward a youth-driven core, and it’s hard not to see why. The Champions League seems to sharpen him rather than overwhelm him, and if he keeps contributing at this pace, his European reputation will grow even faster than his Premier League one.
Nuno Mendes – Paris Saint-Germain, 23, Left-Back
There is no better left-back in the world and it’s not even close. Mendes has been one of the most complete U23 performers in the Champions League this season: four games, two goals, stacks of recoveries, and immaculate passing. He’s the rare full-back who looks equally dangerous defending deep or charging forward. When PSG tilt the pitch, he’s often the player driving them into the final third. When they’re penned in, he’s the one sprinting 40 yards to extinguish counters.
His domestic résumé is already long for someone this young. Breaking through at Sporting, becoming a title-winner in Portugal, earning his move to Paris, and maturing into a dependable, high-floor full-back. Injuries slowed him briefly, but he’s now into a rhythm where his influence is undeniable. At UCL level he’s no longer just “promising” – he’s a match-shaper. If PSG go deep this year, Mendes will certainly be one of the reasons.
Carlos Forbs – Club Brugge, 21, Winger/Forward
Forbs has been quietly superb in the Champions League so far: four matches, two goals, two assists, and constant involvement in Brugge’s most dangerous moves. He brings that winger’s directness you can’t teach – head up, take on the full-back, make something happen. His final ball has sharpened noticeably this season, and his output reflects it.
Before Europe took notice, he bounced through some of the best academies in the world: Manchester City’s youth setup, then Ajax, before landing at Brugge where minutes came quickly and responsibility followed. In the UCL this year he’s showing he can produce against higher-level opposition. Brugge have become experts in letting young attackers spread their wings, and Forbs looks like the next success story.
Nathaniel Brown – Eintracht Frankfurt, 22, Left-back
Brown’s Champions League arrival has felt like a quiet thunderclap. Frankfurt threw him straight into European nights this season and he responded by playing almost every available minute in the league phase.
Four appearances in, and he’s already showing the temperament of someone who treats high-stakes games like light training: clean distribution, sharp recoveries, and that top-end speed that makes opposing wingers bail out of dribbles before they even start.
Franco Mastantuono – Real Madrid, 18, Attacking Midfielder / Winger
Mastantuono wasted no time making the Champions League feel like home. At just 18 he became the youngest foreign player ever to start a European match for Real Madrid, stepping into a frontline full of superstars and refusing to disappear into the background. His UCL showings have oozed personality: demanding the ball, gliding into half-spaces, threading disguised passes and taking defenders on as if the stage wasn’t the biggest in club football.
Franco Mastantuono has gained full praise from is manager after his flying start in Madrid! pic.twitter.com/5QCkQ9d04h
— 365Scores (@365Scores) September 26, 2025
Geovany Quenda – Sporting CP, 18, Right Winger / Wing-back
Few teenagers have embraced the Champions League spotlight as naturally as Quenda. He already had ten UCL appearances under his belt before turning 18, and this season he announced himself with a scorching finish against Kairat, becoming the youngest Portuguese player ever to score in the competition, even younger than you know who! His European performances show the full package: ferocious pressing, explosive acceleration in tight spaces, clever inside dribbles and constant bravery in one-on-one duels. Whenever Sporting need chaos or incision, he provides it.
Sporting trust him everywhere down the right flank, and he repays them with maturity and courage rarely seen at 18. A mega-money move to Chelsea is already lined up, but for now he gets another Champions League run as one of Sporting’s main weapons.
Max Dowman – Arsenal, 15, Attacking Midfielder / Winger
Dowman’s Champions League debut felt like football tilting into the surreal. Fifteen years old, coming on in Prague, instantly becoming the youngest player in the competition’s history. And he didn’t just survive the moment but he played with an ease that verged on unsettling. He drifted into pockets, demanded the ball off senior teammates, glided past markers and looked like someone who’d grown up playing European nights in his back garden. It was the sort of cameo that rewrites expectations for what a 15-year-old can be.
His domestic rise has been equally absurd, just in a longer reel. Youngest scorer in the UEFA Youth League. Youngest Premier League 2 player. Premier League debut at 15, winning a penalty. Youngest starter in Arsenal history soon after. Every level he reaches, he breaks a record by simply turning up. Arsenal know they’re holding something rare, and they’re trying to build his path carefully. But the Champions League chapter has already opened – and it’s historic.
History made last night!
— 365Scores (@365Scores) November 5, 2025
Arsenal’s Max Dowman became the YOUNGEST PLAYER EVER to play in the Champions League at the tender age of 15 years and 308 days! pic.twitter.com/v3ivPB750b
FAQs
Q: What qualifies as “U23” in this context?
A: Everyone here is 23 or younger during the 2025-26 Champions League season, with several still in their mid-teens or late teens.
Q: Why are there not exact stats for all players?
A: Detailed public data for every young player, especially those with only a few appearances, can be patchy. Some of them are only just starting to pick up European minutes.
Q: Are age records like Max Dowman’s actually important?
A: They are fun and they matter symbolically, but the real test comes later – sustained impact, consistent performances and development over several seasons.
Q: Who is most likely to become a global star?
A: The obvious candidates are Lamine Yamal and Estêvão given their roles in huge clubs and attacking positions, but Nuno Mendes and Désiré Doué feel like long-term fixtures at the top level too.
Q: Does being this good this young guarantee anything?
A: Not at all. Plenty of wonderkids stall. What these ten do have is a head start – top coaching, elite environments and proof they can already handle the pressure of the Champions League.
By Nicky Helfgott / @NickyHelfgott1 on Twitter (X)
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