Winning the UEFA Champions League (UCL) is often associated with experience and savviness. But sometimes, Europe’s elite are upset by a bright young upstart.
Nonetheless, here are the top 10 youngest Champions League goalscorers in the competition's history. Also, feel free to check out our dedicated Champions League predictions & betting tips page for this season's competition.
Youngest Champions League scorer: The top 10
A leading light of the Swiss national team, Breel Embolo scored his first UCL goal in November 2014 for Basel. The striker has gone on to carve out a solid career in European football, playing for the likes of Schalke, Borussia Monchengladbach and Monaco.
9. Martin Klein – 17 years 240 days
Maybe the least heralded player on our list is Czech centre-back Martin Klein. The then-Sparta Prague teenager scored a consolation header against Panathinaikos back in 2002.
Klein became something of a journeyman in the years after, turning out for clubs in Turkey, Malta, Kazakhstan and Hungary.
The first La Masia wonderkid on our list, Bojan was considered the heir to Lionel Messi at one point. Things never quite turned out that way, but it was very easy to believe the hype.
After all, despite sitting sixth on this list, Bojan still holds the record for the youngest UCL knockout stage goalscorer, following his quarter-final goal against Schalke back in 2008.
7. Cesc Fabregas – 17 years 217 days
Next on our list is Cesc Fabregas. Like Bojan, Fabregas was made at La Masia, but it was at Arsenal where the Spaniard really thrived.
Like Ramsey several years later, Fabregas was trusted by Arsene Wenger in the UCL, and the midfielder repaid his faith with a goal against Rosenborg. Fabregas went on to have a glittering career, winning the FIFA World Cup between two European Championship triumphs, as well as claiming many league titles.
Dinamo Zagreb are one of the most productive clubs in Europe, with their former players populating the ranks of many clubs across the continent’s top five leagues. Four-time UCL winner Mateo Kovacic ranks highly among them, and became one of the youngest UCL scorers with a strike against Lyon in 2011.
However, it is unlikely Kovacic looks back fondly on the game, as his side lost 7-1, in one of the worst UCL campaigns ever.
5. Peter Ofori-Quaye – 17 years 194 days
Peter Ofori-Quaye was the youngest Champions League scorer ever for 22 years, thanks to his 1997 goal against Rosenborg. Like Kovacic, Ofori-Quaye’s goal was a consolation in a thrashing, as his Olympiacos side lost 5-1.
Ofori-Quaye was unable to build on his explosive entrance to elite football however, and spent the majority of his career moving from club to club in Greece.
Norwegian starlet Antonio Nusa turned many heads in the 2022/23 UCL group stage, as Club Brugge revealed themselves as the tournament’s surprise package. The Belgians beat Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen to qualify from Group B, in large part thanks to Nusa’s skill, speed and trickery.
Nusa’s crowning moment came in a 4-0 win away to Porto, as he became the second-youngest UCL scorer at the time. The winger, still a teenager, earned a big move to RB Leipzig, so his goal is likely not the last contribution he will make in the tournament.
3. George Ilenikhena – 17 years 119 days
Ranking in third place in our list is perhaps an unknown name in George Ilenikhena. He scored in a famous 3-2 win for Belgian side Antwerp at home to Barcelona in the 2023/24 UCL campaign.
Just being pipped to top spot is Barcelona and Spain international prodigy Lamine Yamal. At just 17 years and 40 days old, the winger scored in a 2-1 defeat for Barca away to Monaco in the 2024/25 league phase.
Yamal continues to shock world football with his ability at still such a young age. Could he help Barcelona win the UCL in the 2025/26 season?
1. Ansu Fati – 17 years 40 days
By some distance, the youngest Champions League scorer is Ansu Fati, who scored a late winner against Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2019. It was yet another embellishment on a glittering young career, as Fati scored eight goals in his first campaign, with the world at his feet.
Unfortunately for Fati, injuries have hit his young career very hard. The Spaniard, has missed over 120 football matches since a horrific meniscus tear in 2020. He spent 2023/24 on loan at Brighton, but struggled for fitness there too.
However, Fati can still get the career his prodigious talent deserves. He is now playing for Monaco in the 2025/26 campaign.
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