Five teenage prodigies that made it to the top

The talk of Neymar's £40m move to Europe - and probably Chelsea - got us thinking. Earlier we gave you five teenage prodigies who wilted under the pressure, but this quintet lived up to their superstar billing.

By Michael Cunningham

Paolo Maldini

A truly legendary player who spent his entire career with AC Milan after making his debut at only just 16, Maldini compiled a list of honours that is quite unbelievable to read. He won the Champions League five times, as well as seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia, five Supercoppa Italiana, five European Super Cups and two Intercontinental Cups.

Maldini also played for 14 years for Italy, making his debut in 1988 before retiring in 2002 -  126 caps and four World Cup tournaments later.

Ronaldo

The original Ronaldo, R9 not CR7, was one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation and at the peak of his ability was the best player in the world. He won his first Ballon d'Or in 1997 at 21 and repeated the feat again five years later.

He is one of only two players to have won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times, along with former team-mate Zinedine Zidane. He won 96 caps for the Brazilian national, scoring 62 goals, won two World Cups and became the highest goalscorer in the history of the competition with 15 goals.

Lionel Messi

This list could not be complete with out the mercurial Lionel Messi whose greatness we are priviliged to be living through. The Barcelona star has a simply amazing record that he will surely add to before his career is over. He was brought to the Catalan giants with a growth hormone deficiency, with Barcelona willing to pay his $900 a month medical bills to bring him to Spain.

Messi has won five La Liga titles, three Champions League titles, one Copa Del Rey, four Supercopa de España, one UEFA Super Cup, one FIFA Club World Championship and an Olympic goal medal with Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He is the first player to be top scorer in three consecutive European Cup tournaments.

And he only turned 25 last week.

Ryan Giggs

The ageless Welsh wizard-cum-philanderer has been a mainstay of Manchester United’s midfield since the creation of the Premier League, scoring in every subsequent season as well as 11 consecutive Champions League campaigns.

Giggs is also the most decorated player in English football history: he has 12 Premier League winners' medals, four FA Cups, three League Cups and two Champions Leagues. Fair to say he's delivered on his promise.

Ian Rush

Liverpool legend Ian Rush was a former record transfer fee holder as a teenager, for what seems now a paltry £300,000 from Chester City to Liverpool in 1980. With Liverpool he won the First Division five times, the FA Cup three times, the League Cup five times and one European Cup in 1984.

Rush scored a remarkable 346 goals in 658 league matches during his two stints at Liverpool, either side of a spell at Juventus, which was "like living in a foreign country", apparently.