In 2015, Cristiano Ronaldo tipped five youngsters for greatness – what happened to them and where are they now?
Nine years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo was a Real Madrid superstar, just over halfway through an illustrious career in La Liga following his six-year stint at Manchester United.
It was then that the now Al-Nassr forward pipped these five youngsters for greatness in the footballing world.
In the eyes of Ronaldo, it was Eden Hazard, Neymar and Paul Pogba who were among the five young stars to take the footballing world by storm.
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard and Dutch forward Memphis Depay completed his list.
With all five in red-hot form in 2015 for their respective clubs, here MailSport looks at what happened to the five youngsters tipped for success.
Cristiano Ronaldo tipped five young stars for footballing greatness in 2015
Ronaldo tipped Neymar Jr as one of the youngsters to reach footballing greatness
Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard also made the list from his short spell at Real Madrid
Eden Hazard
When Ronaldo tipped the Belgian star for greatness, Hazard was just three years into his seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge, during which he became one of the Premier League’s best ever players.
However, his blockbuster move to Real Madrid was not the Hollywood transfer he was looking for. Having gone from a hero in Blue to a nightmare in white, Hazard’s time at Los Blancos was filled with injuries.
Tasked with filling the void left by Ronaldo’s departure a year earlier, as well as battling amongst Gareth Bale’s fitness concerns and a young Vinicius Jr, Hazard struggled with weight issues in Madrid. Reports suggested that Chelsea had to ban a burger van from selling fast food to their talismanic winger.
Hazard eventually announced his early retirement from football at the age of 32 in October 2023, but will be making his much-anticipated return to Stamford Bridge for Soccer Aid 2024.
Paul Pogba
The World Cup winning-midfielder was in the midst of a successful career at Serie A side Juventus when Ronaldo pipped him for footballing greatness.
After his record-breaking move to Old Trafford in 2016, just two years later he won the World Cup with France with an enigmatic midfield display in the final. At just 25, it felt as if he was a veteran with the best of his career lying ahead of him.
His return to Juventus in 2022 marked the start of a demise in Pogba’s once highly-decorated career. Pogba returned to the Italian top-flight to try and get his career back on track after his first season back was wrecked by a succession of injuries.
However, September 2023 saw him suspended after a drugs test in Italy, but things went from bad to worse when he was banned for four years for doping in February.
Hazard was one of the Premier League’s best players during his seven-year spell at Chelsea
Hazard struggled with weight issues during his time at Real Madrid, before retiring last year
Eden Hazard will return to Stamford Bridge on June 9 as part of Soccer Aid on the World XI
Pogba’s crowning moment came in 2018 when he won the World Cup with France in Russia
The former Juventus and Manchester United star has been banned for four years for doping after testing positive for DHEA in August
Neymar Jr
As the nation’s all-time leading goalscorer, the Brazilian forward enjoyed a four year stint at Barcelona before moving to join PSG’s star-studded attacking front, playing alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
Despite picking up five French league titles, the Samba star’s time in the French capital was overshadowed by his injuries, and most notably not helping PSG win a Champions League.
Missing over 100 matches for PSG and racking up an injury tally of around 20, while the Brazilian star remained one of greatest players in the club’s history, his move to Al-Hilal did not bring about any change in luck.
With a reported transfer free of £78million on a £130m-per-season contract and earning six times as the amount at PSG, Neymar ruptured his ACL just two months into his move to the Middle East.
Neymar impressed the world on a number of the biggest stages in football at Barcelona and PSG
The Brazilian moved to Al-Hilal for a record transfer fee of £78million
Winning a La Liga title in the 2022-23 season, Depay then moved to Atletico Madrid
Depay recently became his country’s second top-scorer behind Robin Van Persie with a tally of 43 goals
Memphis Depay
In 2015, it was Depay’s 22 goals which saw PSV Eindhoven break Ajax’s four-year stranglehold on the Eredivisie title which earned him a spot on Ronaldo’s coveted list.
His move to Manchester United in the summer of that year never materialised into the success of former PSV stars Jaap Stam, Park Ji-sung and Ruud van Nistelrooy – who each won a Premier League title during their time at Old Trafford.
Lyon and Barcelona were the next to snap up the Dutch forward, with the former providing more success for Depay. Winning a La Liga title in the 2022-23 season, Depay then transferred to his current club, Atletico Madrid.
Depay recently became his country’s second top-scorer behind Robin Van Persie with a tally of 43 goals.
Martin Odegaard signed for Real Madrid at just 16 years of age but went on to make just 11 appearances
Norwegian Odegaard became Real Madrid’s youngest ever debutant at just 16 years and 157 days.
Martin Odegaard
Signed by Real Madrid in a deal worth £3m in 2015, the Norwegian became Real’s youngest ever debutant at just 16 years and 157 days.
Undoubtedly, Ronaldo spotted the talent of his Real teammate in their short tenure together, earning him a spot as one the five tipped for success.
Despite just a short stint at Los Blancos, playing just 11 times for Real in between four loan spells, the Norway star avoided danger after signing for Arsenal in 2021. The Arsenal skipper’s route to the top demonstrates an equally important example to current youngsters tipped for success.
Odegaard turned his career round after heading to North London and is now one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, spearheading a group of young and exciting Gunners under Mikel Arteta.
