World Soccer named 50 'most exciting teenagers in the world' in 2007 and the list makes for fascinating reading

Back in 2007, football magazine World Soccer released a list of the top 50 most exciting teenagers on the planet, with the front page spread featuring Giovani dos Santos, Alexandre Pato and Anderson.

More than 17 years ago, Sadick Adams became one of the most sought-after young players in world football when he scored four goals at the FIFA under-17 World Cup in Korea.

He would go on to sign for La Liga giants Atletico Madrid after penning a pre-contract in November 2007 and would train with the likes of David de Gea at Los Colchoneros.

“We don’t talk on the phone (calls) but we normally chat on Twitter and Instagram," he said regarding his friendship with the Spanish goalkeeper. "De Gea is the closest friend among my teammates at Atletico Madrid but he is not too active on social media."

But after being named the most exciting teenager footballer by World Soccer magazine in 2007, Adams would make just 17 appearances for their B team before joining Serbian side Vojvodina in 2009.

He last played for Bangladesh Premier League side Arambagh KS following spells in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Tunisia.

World Soccer's list of most exciting teenagers in world football in 2007.

Here is a list of the 50 'most exciting teenagers in the world' in 2007:

1. Sadick Adams – Atletico Madrid. Last played for Bangladesh Premier League side Arambagh KS following spells in Saudi Arabia, Cyprus and Tunisia. Made two appearances for Ghana.
2. Ismaiil Aissati – PSV Eindhoven. Retired in 2023 following spells at Ajax, Antalyaspor and Russian club Terek Grozny. Made two appearances for Morocco.
3. Alexandre Pato – AC Milan. Last played Brazilian side São Paulo. Previous spells include Corinthians, Chelsea [loan] and Villarreal. Made 27 appearances for Brazil, scoring 10 goals.
4. Anderson – Manchester United. Retired in 2019 at the age of 31. After leaving Man Utd in 2015, he went on to play for Fiorentina [loan], Internacional, Coritiba and Adana Demirspor.
5. Giovani dos Santos – Barcelona. Retired in 2021 following permanent spells at Tottenham, Mallorca, Villarreal, LA Galaxy and America. Made 106 caps for Mexico.
6. Gareth Bale – Tottenham. Retired in 2023 at the age of 33. Lifted five Champions League titles at Real Madrid before rejoining Spurs on a loan deal. He ended his career at Los Angeles FC.
7. Sergio Aguero – Atletico Madrid. Retired in 2021 due to heart problems. Previous clubs include Manchester City and Barcelona.
8. Bojan Krkic – Barcelona. Retired in 2023 at the age of 32 following a career spanning 15 years. Previous clubs include Roma, Stoke City and Vissel Kobe.
9. Breno Borges – Sao Paulo. Last played for Vasco da Gama. After leaving Sao Paulo in 2008 to join Bayern Munich, he was convicted of aggravated arson in 2012 and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for setting his rented villa on fire.
10. Gerardo Bruna – Liverpool. Currently a free agent. Last played for Northern Irish semi-professional club Dungannon Swifts following spells at Tranmere Rovers, Ottawa Fury and Shelbourne.
11. Angel Di Maria – Benfica. Currently plays for Benfica following spells at Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain. Made 145 appearances for Argentina between 2008 and 2024.
12. Diego Buonanotte – River Plate. Currently plays for Chilean club Deportes Temuco. Previous clubs include Malaga, Granada and AEK Athens.
13. Franco Di Santo – Audax Italiano. Currently plays for Argentine Primera División side Independiente Rivadavia following spells at Chelsea, Wigan Athletic and Werder Bremen.
14. Macauley Chrisantus – Abuja FC. Last played for Gibraltar-based side Lynx. Previous clubs include Hamburg, Las Palmas and AEK Athens.
15. Karim Benzema – Lyon. Currently plays for Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad. After leaving Lyon, he won five Champions League titles at Real Madrid with the previously mentioned Gareth Bale.
16. Dumitru Copil – Hearts. Currently plays for Liga IV side Unirea Sântana in Romania. Previous clubs include Gloria Arad, UTA Arad and Gloria LT Cermei.
17. Fabio Pereira da Silva – Manchester United. Last played for Brazilian club Grêmio. After leaving United, he joined Cardiff City before enjoying spells at Middlesbrough and Nantes.
18. Kermit Erasmus – SuperSport United. Currently plays for Motsepe Foundation League side Casric Stars in South Africa. Previous spells include Feyenoord, Orlando Pirates and Rennes.
19. Fabio Coentrao – Benfica. Retired at the age of 33. After leaving Benfica, he spent seven years at Real Madrid before joining Portuguese side Rio Ave. He is now the owner of three large fishing boats.
20. Marouane Fellaini – Standard Liege. Retired in 2024 at the age of 36. Previous spells include Everton, Manchester United and Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan.
21. Guilherme – Cruzeiro. Currently plays for Brazilian side São Joseense after spells at Dynamo Kiev, Atletico Mineiro and Corinthians.
22. Darrian Ismodes – Club Sporting Cristal. Currently plays for Peruvian side Carlos Stein. Previous clubs include Racing Santander, Cienciano and Deportivo Municipal.
23. Lorenzo De Silvestri – Lazio. Currently plays for Serie A side Bologna. After leaving Lazio, he joined Fiorentina before enjoying spells at Sampdoria and Torino.
24. Nour Hadhria – Club Africain. Retired in 2019 after staying in his native Tunisia.
25. Rabiu Ibrahim – Sporting Lisbon. Last played for Slovan Bratislava in Slovakia. Previous clubs include PSV Eindhoven, Celtic and Kilmarnock.

Sadick Adams with De Gea during his time at Atletico Madrid.

The rest of the list includes Kerlon, Toni Kroos, Juan Mata, Lulinha, Sapol Mani, Cristian Nazarit, Ransford Osei, Aaron Niguez, Daniel Opare, Fran Merida, Nikolay Mihaylov and Mesut Ozil, who went on to play for Real Madrid and Arsenal.

Andrea Russotto of AC Bellinzona also featured alongside, Renato Augusto, Henri Saivet, Micah Richards, Alexis Sanchez. Sergio Tejera, Marek Suchy, Ivan Rakitic, Abdou Razack Traore, Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott, Gregory van der Wiel and Ever Banega.