Lamine Yamal Tops CIES Ranking of World's Best Under-23 Players
Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal has been ranked as the best under-23 outfield player in world football according to the latest weekly report from the CIES Football Observatory. The research group's analysis, which uses a multi-criteria model incorporating performance data, match difficulty, team results, and playing time, places the 16-year-old Spanish international at the summit of a list of the sport's most promising talents.
The ranking underscores Yamal's meteoric rise from academy prospect to a fundamental piece of Xavi Hernandez's first team at Barcelona. Following him in second and third place are Juventus's Kenan Yildiz and Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery, respectively. The presence of Zaire-Emery and Lyon's Rayan Cherki, who also features in the top ten, highlights the strong representation of Ligue 1 in the list.
Further down the ranking, Metz's Lamine Camara and Rennes's Desire Doue are noted as the next highest-rated players from the French top flight. The CIES model also identifies lesser-known prospects, such as IFK Norrkoping's Moutaz Neffati, who leads the ranking for the Swedish second division. Bayern Munich's Aleksandar Pavlovic appears in eighth, offering some consolation to the German club after seeing youth product Yildiz flourish in Turin.
For Yamal, the accolade is a testament to a breakthrough season where he has become the youngest ever goalscorer in La Liga and a full Spanish international. His technical ability and decision-making have seen him entrusted with significant responsibility at Barcelona despite his age, a key factor in the CIES rating. The model is designed to identify players whose on-field contributions are both high-level and consistent for their clubs.
The ranking is closely watched by clubs and analysts, often mirroring the high-potential player lists popularized by sports simulation games like Football Manager. It provides a data-driven snapshot of which young players are currently delivering the most value on the pitch, beyond mere potential or reputation.
Yamal's position at the top will inevitably intensify the discourse around his future and the need for Barcelona to manage his development carefully. With the club facing well-documented financial constraints, his emergence as a homegrown star is of immense sporting and economic importance. This external validation of his current performance level reinforces his status as one of the game's most valuable assets.
