Who are the youngest goalscorers in a UEFA Champions League final?
The Champions League final is a stage where young stars announce themselves to the football world and the 2024-25 final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan could well be no different.
As it stands, seven players has found the net in a UEFA Champions League final whilst under the age of 22, only one of whom has previously represented either one of these two finalists.
Below is a list of the top-ten youngest goalscorers in a UEFA Champions League final:
UEFA Champions League final – youngest goalscorers (1992-93 onwards)
Name | Nationality | Team | Season | Age (year) | Age (days) | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patrick Kluivert | Netherlands | AFC Ajax | 1994/95 | 18 | 327 | AC Milan |
Carlos Alberto | Brazil | FC Porto | 2003/04 | 19 | 167 | AS Monaco |
Lars Ricken | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | 1996/97 | 20 | 322 | Juventus |
Marco Asensio | Spain | Real Madrid C.F. | 2016/17 | 21 | 133 | Juventus |
Vinícius Júnior | Brazil | Real Madrid C.F. | 2021/22 | 21 | 320 | Liverpool FC |
Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona | 2008/09 | 21 | 337 | Manchester United |
Kai Havertz | Germany | Chelsea FC | 2020/21 | 21 | 352 | Manchester City |
Alessandro Del Piero | Italy | Juventus | 1996/97 | 22 | 200 | Borussia Dortmund |
İlkay Gündoğan | Germany | Borussia Dortmund | 2012/13 | 22 | 213 | FC Bayern München |
Álvaro Morata | Spain | Juventus | 2014/15 | 22 | 226 | FC Barcelona |
Lionel Messi has represented Paris Saint-Germain over the course of glittering career, but it was as a 21-year-old at Barcelona when he scored his first Champions League final goal in a 2-0 win over Man Utd in 2009. That made Messi at the time the fourth youngest goalscorer in a Champions League final.
Since then, two players have found the net in Europe's biggest club match who were younger that Messi was at the time of his first goal, one of which by just 17 days. Both were Real Madrid players and both were 21 years old. Marco Asensio scored at 21 years and 133 days old against Juventus in 2017, whilst Brazilian star Vinicius Junior netted his first Champions League final goal at 21 years and 320 days in 2022
Only two teenagers boast a goal in the final of a Champions League. Patrick Kluivert is the youngest at just 18 when he scored the winning goal for Ajax in the Dutch giants' 1-0 win over Juventus in 1995. Nine years later, 19-year-old attacking midfielder Carlos Alberto was on the scoresheet for Jose Mourinho's Porto, who defeated Monaco in 2004.
