Top 15 Best South American Youngsters in Football (2023)

Gabriel Veron best young South American Footballers
(Photo by Joao Rico/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

South American football is blessed with tremendous talents. They are never short of skillful players who romance the ball at their feet, even from as young as 13 and 14 years old.

Every season, the European big boys snatch a teenager from South America, hoping to get the next Pele or unearth the next Messi, find the next Neymar.

Yearly, 14-year-olds move from the Brazilian and Argentinan leagues to Europe and join the big boys in ruling football for the next decades. 

Great players like Pelé, Lionel Messi, Kakà, and the late Diego Maradona are a few of the stars that have come out of this continent.

These days a new crop of gifted stars are emerging to take over where the legends of the past left off.

Today, there are a lot of exciting young South American football talent to keep your eyes on. Here are the best South American youngsters in football right now.

1. Vinicius Junior 

Vinicius Junior best wingers in the world 2022
(Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Real Madrid 
  • Age: 22
  • Position: Winger.

Vinicius Junior is only 22, but he is slowly etching his name into Real Madrid’s history books.

He’s also looking like a player who will be around at the top for a long time; imagine seeing his name here and thinking it was an error because of what he’s done with the Los Blancos for the last three seasons, only to realize that he fits into the category.

Since joining them in 2018, he’s made over 140 appearances and won two La Liga titles, one UEFA Champions League, and two FIFA Club World Cups.

He has also played at the World Cup with Brazil, although it only ended with a quarterfinal finish in Qatar last year.

Vinicius Junior is not just one of the best young South American footballers, but already one of the best wingers in the world.

For a man who decides the game for Real Madrid in the absence of Karim Benzema, it is scary what else you can offer when he reaches his peak.

2. Enzo Fernández

Enzo Fernández best young midfielders in the world
(Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images)
  • Country: Argentina 
  • Club: Chelsea 
  • Age: 22
  • Position: Midfielder.

Enzo Fernández’s victory as the best young player in the recently won FIFA World Cup by Argentina is evidence of his exceptional skills.

Despite having less than a dozen full caps, he managed to control the midfield for the Argentine team during the tournament, which is truly commendable.

Fernández possesses a diverse skill set that includes disrupting opponents’ play, generating opportunities, retrieving the ball, dictating the pace, and recycling possession.

He is regarded as one of the best young midfielders in football at the moment.

As a result of his outstanding performance, his value skyrocketed, leading Benfica to sell him to Chelsea in a record-breaking transfer deal worth over £106.8 million.

3. Gabriel Martinelli

Gabriel Martinelli soccer players who wear number 11 jersey
(Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Arsenal 
  • Age: 21
  • Position: Winger.

Gabriel Martinelli is arguably the most inform winger the EPL this season.

Under Mikel Arteta, Martinelli has shone brightly and transformed into a deadly goalscoring winger.

Martinelli is a dynamic and explosive left-winger with agile movements, capable of dribbling past multiple opponents to either create or score goals.

He was part of the Brazil team that won an Olympic Gold in men’s football at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was also part of Brazil’s squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

At the time of this writing, the Brazilian has 13 goals and 2 assists in 28 matches in the Premier League.

4. Julián Álvarez 

Julián Álvarez best young football strikers
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
  • Country: Argentina 
  • Club: Manchester City 
  • Age: 23
  • Position: Striker.

You know him already, Manchester City’s second strike option after Erling Haaland, Copa America, and World Cup winner with Argentina in Qatar 2022.

Álvarez is a second-choice striker at a Premier League club who can actually start as a main striker for many top teams even in the Premier League.

Julian Álvarez may not be as tall and as deadly as Haaland, but he definitely can also be as clinical as the Norwegian striker.

He is undoubtedly among the top young strikers in the world now, and has the potential to become one of the best.

Actually, he even brings more to the table than just filling the top striker, as he is known for his link-up play and aggressive pressing style.

5. Antony

Antony Footballers wearing number 21
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Manchester United 
  • Age: 23
  • Position: Winger.

Skillful, pacy, and direct, those are the words likely used to describe Brazilian right-winger Antony.

Following his exploits at Ajax, Manchester United splurged £82 million) to sign him, the highest fee paid for an Eredivisie player.

Antony became part of the Brazilian national team, after winning a gold medal with the Brazil under-23 team at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

He is a an attack-minded winger, who is capable of dribbling, shooting, and delivery lethal crosses.

6. Alejandro Garnacho 

Alejandro Garnacho
(Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)
  • Country: Argentina 
  • Club: Manchester United 
  • Age: 18
  • Position: Winger.

Alejandro Garnacho is still a teenager, but the Red Devils faithful are eagerly waiting for him to become a starter at Old Trafford after seeing what he can offer in just cameos.

Garnacho joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and what’s with the youth teams for a while, but he didn’t spend long before he was promoted to the main team.

He’s also continued to impress and convince the coaches at the club that he doesn’t need a loan move to prove his worth.

He also earned his first national team call-up to the Argentina national team in the first international break of 2023.

That signalled his recognition with the national team handlers even though he’s only contributed two goals and two assists in 15 Premier League teams for Manchester United.

7. Andrey Santos

Andrey Santos top young South American football players
(Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Chelsea 
  • Age: 18
  • Position: Midfielder.

Everything is happening fast for Andre Santos, who is just under two years into his professional football career with any senior team at all.

The Brazilian teenager broke into the limelight after helping Vasco de Gama back into the top flight, and he was immediately snapped up by Chelsea in an £18 million deal.

Immediately after securing his signature, the Blues loaned him back to Vasco da Gama, and it did not just stop there; he featured at the South American under-20 championship in early 2023.

He emerged as the joint-top scorer in the competition with six goals while also leading his Brazilian team-mates to the title by beating Uruguay in the final and also putting his name on the score sheet.

This is a player who seems like a steal for Chelsea if he manages to continue to grow and stay on the path to greatness.

8. Endrick

Endrick Best Soccer Players Aged Under 18
(Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Real Madrid (Palmerias)
  • Age: 16
  • Position: Striker.

Just like they did with Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid has splashed the cash for another teenager from Brazil, Endrick, who will only join the club when he turns 18 in 2024.

But right, he is among the best soccer players under 18 years of age.

This is not the first time the last one of us will be catching them young with Martin Odegaard, one of the players who were signed by Los Blancos as a teenager.

This alone speaks highly of the immense talents Endrick packs, with many across the World watching and waiting.

9. Rodrygo

Rodrygo Goes wearing number 21 jersey
(Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Real Madrid 
  • Age: 22
  • Position: Forward.

Rodrigo has been at Real Madrid since 2019, when he joined them as a 19-year-old forward.

His most phenomenal performance for Real Madrid was his late double against Manchester City when Real Madrid were trailing the UEFA Champions League semi-final tie with less than 4 minutes of added time to go.

Rodrygo stepped up and took responsibility and scored two goals before Karim Benzema scored the winning penalty to send Real Madrid through to the final.

Before that, Rodrygo had always been showing that he was a special player, having been the first player born in the 21st century to score in the UEFA Champions League and also the second youngest scorer to score a hat-trick in the competition.

10. Thiago Almada

Thiago Almada best South American youngsters in football
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
  • Country: Argentina
  • Club: Atalanta United
  • Age: 21
  • Position: Attacking Midfielder 

The 21-year-old Argentinian forward  joined American Major League Soccer side Atlanta United for a league record fee.

The diminutive youngster is said to be blessed with playmaking skills and vision to make the right pass.

Thiago Almada was part of the Argentine team that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

During a friendly match against Panama, on March 23rd, 2023, Almada made his third appearance for the senior team and scored his inaugural international goal for Argentina at the senior level. This made him the first-ever player based in the MLS to score for the national team.

He is seen as a future member for the senior Argentina national team if he can continue on his upward trajectory.

11. Gabriel Veron

Gabriel Veron best young South American Footballers
(Photo by Joao Rico/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: FC Porto 
  • Age: 20
  • Position: Winger.

The 20-year-old was part of the Brazilian squad that won the under 17 FIFA World Cup in 2019 as the host country.

Veron was one of the stars of the tournament contributing three goals to help the junior Selecao with their fourth title.

Gabriel is currently on the books of Portuguese side FC Porto after he joined the on 22 July 2022 for a fee of around 10 million euros.

He is undoubtedly one of the best young South American football players in the world.

12. Angelo Gabriel 

Angelo Gabriel best young football players in South America
(Photo by GUILHERME DIONIZIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
  • Country: Brazil 
  • Club: Santos 
  • Age: 18
  • Position: Forward.

Here is another Brazilian youngster that is expected in Europe any moment from now.

Angelo Gabriel is linked with a couple of top European clubs, including Barcelona and Liverpool.

The 18-year-old has made over 80 appearances for Santos in Brazil, and she is expected to be part of the next generation of Brazilian big stars.

13. Moisés Caicedo

Moisés Caicedo
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND – (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
  • Country: Colombia 
  • Club: Brighton 
  • Age: 21
  • Position: Midfielder. 

Even though Moisés Caicedo has signed a contract extension at Brighton but the player, the club, and football fans know that his time at the Amex Stadium is limited, especially with the events of the January transfer window that saw him linked heavily with a move to Arsenal.

Caicedo is one of the youngsters from Ecuador with immense talent contributing to the club and the national team, respectively, as he made the 2022 World Cup squad.

14. Facundo Pellistri

Facundo Pellistri best young South American football talents
(Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
  • Country: Uruguay 
  • Club: Manchester United 
  • Age: 21
  • Position: Winger

At just 21, Facundo Pellistri has played in three different countries, his native Uruguay, Spanish La Liga while on loan at Alavee, and the Premier League with Manchester United.

The winger has also recorded 11 appearances with the Uruguay national team and is considered one of the plans for the future at Old Trafford.

15. Facundo Buonanotte

Facundo Buonanotte best young football players in South America
(Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
  • Country: Argentina 
  • Club: Brighton 
  • Age: 18
  • Position: Attacking Midfielder.

Facundo Buonanotte please for Brighton in the Premier League; although he has not become a regular face for the Seagulls, nevertheless, he has registered his name as one of the shrewd businesses for the club.

The 18-year-old is an attacking midfielder and is expected to be one of the cash cows for Brighton in the next few seasons.

He is already recognized by the Argentinian national team after receiving his first call-up to the national team squad for the first international break for 2022 in March.

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