Nine years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo was a Real Madrid superstar, just over halfway through his illustrious La Liga career following his six-year spell at Manchester United.
It was then that the now Al-Nassr striker surpassed these five young men to greatness in the world of football.
In Ronaldo’s eyes, Eden Hazard, Neymar and Paul Pogba were among the five young stars who conquered the world of football.
Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard and Dutch striker Memphis Depay completed their list.
With all five in top form in 2015 for their respective clubs, here MailSport looks at what happened to the five youngsters who were tipped for success.
Cristiano Ronaldo targets five young stars for football greatness in 2015
Ronaldo pointed out Neymar Jr as one of the young people who achieved football greatness
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard also made the list after his brief spell at Real Madrid.
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Danger of Eden
When Ronaldo hinted at the Belgian star’s 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 players.
However, his blockbuster move to Real Madrid was not the Hollywood transfer he was looking for. Having gone from being a hero in blue to a nightmare in white, Hazard’s time at Los Blancos was full of injuries.
Tasked with filling the void left by Ronaldo’s departure a year earlier, as well as battling the physical concerns of Gareth Bale and a young Vinicius Jr, Hazard struggled with his weight in Madrid. Reports suggested Chelsea had to ban a burger van from selling fast food to his extreme talisman.
Hazard finally announced his early retirement from football at the age of 32 in October 2023, but will make his long-awaited return to Stamford Bridge for Soccer Aid 2024.
Pablo Pogba
The World Cup-winning midfielder was in the midst of a successful career at Serie A side Juventus when Ronaldo surpassed him for his 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 performance in the final. At only 25 years old, he felt like he was a veteran with the best of his career ahead of him.
His return to Juventus in 2022 marked the beginning of a demise in Pogba’s once highly decorated career. Pogba returned to the Italian top flight to try to restart his career after his first season was ruined by a succession of injuries.
However, in September 2023 he was suspended following a doping 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 best players in the Premier League during his seven years at Chelsea.
Hazard had weight problems during his time at Real Madrid, before retiring last year.
Eden Hazard to 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
The nation’s all-time leading goalscorer, the Brazilian striker enjoyed a four-year spell at Barcelona before joining PSG’s star-studded attacking front, playing alongside Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi.
Despite winning five French league titles, the Samba star’s time in the French capital was overshadowed by his injuries and, most notably, his failure to help PSG win a Champions League.
Although he missed more than 100 games with PSG and accumulated around twenty injuries, although the Brazilian star remained one of the best players in the club’s history, his move to Al-Hilal did not bring any change in his fortunes.
On a free transfer fee of £78m on a £130m-a-season deal and earning six times as much as PSG, Neymar ruptured his ACL just two months after his move to the Middle East.
Neymar impressed the world on several of football’s biggest stages in Barcelona and PSG.
The Brazilian moved to Al-Hilal for a record transfer fee of £78 million.
Winning a La Liga title in the 2022-23 season, Depay then moved to Atlético Madrid.
Depay recently became his country’s second top scorer behind Robin Van Persie with 43 goals.
Memphis Depay
In 2015, it was Depay’s 22 goals that allowed PSV Eindhoven to break Ajax’s four-year stranglehold on the Eredivisie title, earning him a place on Ronaldo’s coveted list.
His move to Manchester United in the summer of that year never materialized in 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 next to land the Dutch striker, 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, Atlético Madrid.
Depay recently became his country’s second top scorer behind Robin Van Persie with 43 goals.
Martin Odegaard signed for Real Madrid when he was only 16 years old, but he only played 11 games.
Norwegian Odegaard became Real Madrid’s youngest 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 Madrid’s youngest debutant at just 16 years and 157 days old.
Without a doubt, Ronaldo spotted his Real Madrid teammate’s talent during their brief tenure together, earning him a place among the five candidates for success.
Despite a brief spell at Los Blancos, playing just 11 times for Real Madrid between four loan spells, the Norwegian star avoided danger after signing for Arsenal in 2021. The Arsenal captain’s path to the top proves an equally example important for today’s young people aiming for success.
Odegaard turned his career around after heading north London and is now one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, spearheading a young and exciting Gunners group under Mikel Arteta.
