Torres, Sneijder and a duet from Russia: Top 10 lit up before 20 years old, went out before 30

Eden Hazard became a star very early! Already at the age of 16 he made his debut in Ligue 1, and at 17 he played for the Belgian national team. Then two years in a row he was recognized as the best young football player of the championship. And when, in 2011, 20-year-old Hazard led Lille to gold medals, he was already recognized as the best player in the championship, regardless of age! Then there was a transfer to Chelsea and after a while the title of the best player in the Premier League. Eden showed cool football and helped to take trophies, but at the age of 28 he abruptly passed. For the fourth season in a row, he is in the reserve of Real Madrid, and in the national team he does not show the same level. 

In fact, a rare situation when a young player not only sparkled before the age of 20, but became just that big star. Basically, after an early rise, there is a rapid fall. We made our selection about such cases. So, these are the top 10 football players who became stars before 20, and deflated to 30!

10) In tenth place – Mario Gotze.At the age of 17, a pupil of Borussia took to the field for the first time in a Bundesliga match. A year later, he became the main player – and immediately a star. Goetze scored the first goal in the second round against Stuttgart, in the 10th round he made 1 + 1 in the game with Mainz. For the first time against Bayern, the midfielder played in the second round and made two assists! In that game, the championship intrigue was practically killed. As a result, Dortmund became the champion, helped by 18-year-old Mario with 21 performance points. And in the fall, the guy received his first call-up to the national team.

Gotze was cool for five seasons in a row. Including the first couple of years at Bayern, where he moved at the age of 21. His top career was crowned with the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final. And then the star began to fade gradually. There were injuries, problems with motivation, misunderstandings with the coach. When Mario returned to Dortmund, everyone was expecting a career resuscitation, but the player was diagnosed with a disease with an abnormal metabolism. He received the necessary treatment, but never played again as in his youth. It has been several years since they stopped calling him to the national team.

9) Ninth – Robbie Fowler.This is the second scorer in the history of Liverpool in the era of the Premier League. The pupil of the “Reds” made his debut in the first team when he was 18 years old, and already in his fifth match of the championship he scored a hat-trick! Usually young guys are gradually pulled up to the composition, but Fowler showed such a game and such confidence that he immediately turned into an iron player in the base. At the end of the season, he became the team’s second scorer in all competitions and the club’s top scorer in the League Cup – 6+3 in five matches.

Liverpool won the tournament the following year and Robbie was 4+2 in eight games. From 1994 to 1997, the striker scored more than thirty goals in every season! And in total for three years on his account there were under 100 goals. But then the career went down. Fowler became toxic, for which he paid with money, disqualifications, and ultimately worsening results. At the age of 27, Robbie last scored more than 10 goals in the Premier League, but during the course of that season he had to leave Liverpool due to disagreements with the coaching staff. Yes, he was removed from the team. So the top career ended.

8) Eighth position – here Dmitry Sychev and Alan Dzagoev. Sychev took off from the status of a no-name to the main hope of Spartak and the national team in six months. He became the youngest leader of the RPL scorers race! Romantsev took the 18-year-old guy to the 2002 World Cup, and there he also decided. Six months later, there was a transition to Marseille, where the Russian was not lost. Then in his career there was Loko, where he became a leader, but after a couple of seasons, Dmitry began to deflate. After 26 years, he has never finished at least 10 goals in the RPL …

Dzagoev, at the age of 18, became the third in the RPL season in terms of goal + pass. Alan was also the league’s top scorer under the age of 19. In the autumn he made his debut in the national team. He was immediately thrown into action in an important game and nearly saved Hiddink’s team from defeat. Soon there were rumors that Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham were interested in the guy. But Alan remained and spent his best years as the leader of the “army”. However, increased trauma increasingly interfered with the player. Dzagi had his last good season at the age of 28, after which there were only disappointments. 

7) On the seventh line – Wesley Sneijder. The midfielder made his debut for the basis of Ajax at the age of 18 – he was put not only in the championship matches, but also played in the Champions League playoffs against Milan. Wesley materel before our eyes and already in the next season became one of the leaders of the Godinzonen. At the end of 2004, Sneijder was named the Dutch Footballer of the Year. First matches, goals and assists for the national team also happened before the 20th anniversary. A new star has been lit in the Netherlands.

Plus the guy moved to Real Madrid! And the peak of his career came during the years at Mourinho’s Inter, when Holland also reached the World Cup final. Wesley was the leader of both teams, a real maestro. But after the departure of Jose, Sneijder started having problems at the club, Inter was in crisis, and the midfielder himself no longer showed such an inspired game. It was very disappointing when this top player at the age of 28 decided to go and finish playing in Turkey. Wesley, even before the age of 30, wanted to get high, not regime. The way he got fat as soon as he finished is a perfect illustration of this.  

6) Sixth – Dele Alli.He was bought by Tottenham Hotspur after showing his worth at third division side MK Dons where he was a key midfielder. In August 2014, when the Dons thrashed Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup, top club scouts were already on the alert. However, six months later, Alli was signed by the Spurs. Delhi in the first season finished the championship second in goal + pass in the team! There was also the inclusion in the symbolic team according to the association of professional football players. And a very spectacular goal, recognized as the best of the season by the BBC.

In 2016, the guy became the main player in the Euro national team. And in 2018, the CIES research center named Dele the most expensive midfielder in the world! By the age of 22, the hype around the name Alli just went through the roof. But he seems to be greatly overrated. The player did not have enough motivation and character, even the super-psychologist Jose could not stir him up. The football player did not show the previous level and got stuck on the bank. Recently, Dele has not been the main one either at Tottenham or at Everton. Yes, even in Turkey now is not impressive.

5) Fifth take Fernando Torres. El Niño went through Atlético’s youth system. For the first team he played for the first time at the age of 17, and a week after his debut he scored the first goal. “Mattress” was then a team of the second division, and the kid had the opportunity to fill bumps in the matches of the Segunda. This perfectly prepared him for the transition to a new level. The team with the young Torres at the base came out in the Example. The guy was at the start for the first game of the La Liga season against Barca and assisted on a saving goal in the end! 

In total, he had 13 goals in the first season of Examples. And in the second, Fernando already had twenty goals and was the third scorer of the tournament. The 19-year-old boy then tried on the captain’s armband! He also made his debut for the national team. Torres last played for Furia Roja at the disastrous World Cup in Brazil. El Niño was then 30 years old, and his club career was specifically stalled at Chelsea. The Spaniard practically stopped scoring and ceased to be listed as a top forward at the age of 28-29. This player was enough for ten years of top football.