Top 10 Best South American Youngsters In Football

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For some decades now, there has not been any continent to produce youngsters in football like South America.

By the way, Lionel Messi is a South American, Late Pelé, Later Diego Maradona, Neymar, Edison Cavani, Luis Suarez, and other top talented soccer stars.

I am purposely not hard on European soccer youngsters, but South America has been the best in producing young talented soccer players, and because it is factual, top teams such as Manchester City, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea have always grabbed the opportunity of signing youngsters from South America if they come across one.

Well, you might quite be wondering about the best South American youngsters in football since there are a lot of them, hence I will be discussing the best South American youngsters in football in today’s guide.

Best South American Youngsters In Football

1. Vinicius Junior

Country: Brazil
Club: Real Madrid
Age: 23
Position: Winger

Vinicius Junior of course is only 23 years old, and from when he signed for Real Madrid till now, he has been engraving his name in Madrid’s history.

It might be difficult to believe how Vinicius started awfully for Real Madrid when Benzema used to pranky say to Madrid teammates “Do not pass the ball to Vinicius Junior, he is playing against us” and how he is now one of the key players and the most reliable player in the Madrid team.

The Young lad joined Real Madrid in 2018, since then he has made over 150 appearances and has won the La Liga title, UEFA Champions League, and every competition he has played in Real Madrid.

In the just concluded FIFA World Cup tournament that was hosted in Qatar, Vinicius featured for his nation even though far Brazil went was the Quarter-finals.

Aside from being one of the best youngsters in South America, Vinicius is currently one of the best wingers in the world.

2. Gabriel Martinelli

Country: Brazil
Club: Arsenal
Age: 22
Position: Winger

Having struggled in the past season for form, Gabriel Martinelli finally emerged as one of the most in-form wingers in EPL in the 2022/23 season.

Well, all thanks to Mikel Arteta who has helped the South American winger transform into a bright and deadly goal-scoring winger.

Aside from scoring goals, Martinelli is capable of dribbling past multiple opponents and creating big chances for his teammates to score.

He won an Olympic Gold medal in men’s football at the 2020 Summer Olympics following Brazil’s victory in the tournament and also made it into Brazil’s squad in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

He had more than 15 goals in the just-concluded season for Arsenal.

3. Enzo Fernández

Country: Argentina
Club: Chelsea
Age: 23
Position: Midfielder

Enzo Fernández got established after he won the best young player in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar following Argentina’s victory over France in the final.

During the FIFA World Cup tournament, Enzo manhandled the midfielder which led Argentina to their victory on the last day.

Enzo Fernández’s ball skills include creating chances, recovering the ball, dictating paces, recycling possessions, and disrupting opponents, and he does them perfectly for not just Argentina, but also for Chelsea.

The youngster is not just considered to be one of the South American youngsters but one of the best young midfielders currently.

4. Moisés Caicedo

Country: Colombia
Club: Brighton
Age: 22
Position: Midfielder

Moisés Caicedo Ecuador youngster, and we rarely see his kind. Well, I could say he is Casemiro’s kind.

Caicedo is a top-talented player for his nation Ecuador and his club Brighton.

Although the youngster had extended his contract at Brighton, he is likely to leave the club this summer as he has attracted interest from a lot of clubs in Europe.

He helped Brighton reach the FA Cup semis but his team lost in the penalty shootout to Manchester United.

5. Facundo Pellistri

Country: Uruguay
Club: Manchester United
Age: 21
Position: Winger

In his early 20s, Facundo Pellistri played for three different clubs in three countries. He has played for his native Uruguay, Alavee while on loan in Spanish La Liga, and in the Premier League for Manchester United.

For Uruguay, he has registered more than 10 professional appearances and he is considered in the plans at Manchester United.

6. Alejandro Garnacho

Country: Argentina
Club: Manchester United
Age: 19
Position: Winger

Alejandro Garnacho is enjoying a skyrocketing career development at Old Trafford having joined The Red Devils from Atletico Madrid in 2020.

Well, he joined the Red Devil youths but did not spend much time there as he impressed the United board and earned his place in the first-team squad.

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

He has registered more than 6 goals for Manchester United in just a few appearances.

7. Endrick

Brazil
Club: Real Madrid (Palmeiras)
Age: 17
Position: Striker

Real Madrid has already paid a huge amount for Endrick who is technically on loan at Palmeiras even though he was a Palmerais player before Madrid interest was registered.

Endrick will no doubt be joining Madrid in 2028 from Palmerais, he is still young, only 17 years old.

Currently, Endrick is one of the youngsters from South America and is likely to be a top-talented player in the future.

Endrick’s passing skills, dribbling, filling paces, and footwork are top-notch, but we will wait and see when he arrives at Real Madrid.

READ ALSO: Best Soccer Players In France

8. Andrey Santos

Country: Brazil
Club: Chelsea
Age: 19
Position: Midfielder

Andrey Santos is arguably one of the luckiest Brazilian youngsters who just started his professional career more than two years ago.

The young lad helped Vasco de Gama back into the top flight, and immediately got an interest from Chelsea who secured the young talented Brazilian move for just a £18 million deal.

Having secured a deal for the young lad, Chelsea loaned him back to Vasco da Gama, and from there he featured at the South American under-20 championship in 2023.

Due to his top and multiple skills, he quickly emerged as the joint top in the competition with six goals and led his side to the title by winning against Uruguay in the final.

In the future, he will be a top star for Chelsea if all goes well in his career development, and of course, I wish him well.

9. Angelo Gabriel

Country: Brazil
Club: Santos
Age: 19
Position: Forward

Angelo Gabriel might not be playing in Europe currently but he is one of the top youngsters from South America that is expected to storm Europe very soon.

The Brazilian star has been linked to several top clubs in Europe. Clubs like Barcelona and Liverpool have registered their interests.

The 19 years old has made over 80 appearances for Santos in Brazil and of course, is expected to be a top Brazilian star.

10. Rodrygo

Country: Brazil
Club: Real Madrid
Age: 22
Position: Forward

Rodrygo joined Real Madrid when he was 19 years old, and that was since 2019.

He shook the world when he came from the bench to help Real Madrid qualify for the Champions League semis against Manchester City with just less than 4 minutes added time to go.

He came in and scored two goals before Karim Benzema sealed the winner with a penalty to help Madrid go to the next stage which was the final.

Even before and after this event, Rodrygo has always been stepping up when he is needed by his team. At such a young age, the South American youngster has won every possible trophy at Real Madrid.

Kenny

Kenny is an experienced blogger and sports writer who majors in soccer articles amongst other trending niches. Do well to stay updated with his updates and that of his team of editors on Readsoccer.