In the world of football, there is constant talk about the most talented and promising football players who are expected to soon become the brightest stars of this sport. Since 2003, the most talented player in the world has been awarded the "Golden Boy" award, which is open to all footballers aged 20 or younger. But do all the players who receive this award become the brightest stars in the world of football? After announcing the winner of the 2017 "Golden Boy," Eurofootball.com decided to look into the careers of all the players who have won this award and the most famous players who failed to win this title. Previous articles include: 2003 - Rafael van der Vaart; 2004 - Wayne Rooney; 2005 - Lionel Messi; 2006 - Cesc Fabregas; 2007 - Sergio Aguero; 2008 - Anderson; 2009 - Alexandre Pato, 2010 - M. Balotelli, 2011 - M. Gotze, 2012 - Isco, 2013 - P. Pogba. The rest of this article will follow next week. 2014: Raheem Sterling Former team: "Liverpool" Current team: "Manchester City" Raheem Sterling was born in Jamaica, but when he was five, he emigrated to England with his mother. There, he started attending football training representing the Queens Park Rangers youth team. After almost a decade, the boy caught attention when FIFA rules were changed because of him. In 2009, the football associations of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland appealed to this organization asking to change the previous practice and allow players who have spent five years in the country and studying to represent national teams. Although under the previous rules, R. Sterling would have had to wait until adulthood, the new provisions allowed him to debut in the England U-16 national team. The player, for whom the FIFA rule had been changed, did not impress while playing for England's youth teams and did not rule out the possibility of representing the Jamaican national team in the future. "When the time comes to choose a team, I will choose it. If Jamaica's coaches call me and offer to play for their national team, why not?" - said the young player. However, at age 15, R. Sterling stood out from his peers so much that the then Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez did not hesitate to pay him a sum of £600,000, which later grew to almost five million pounds with additional bonuses. Moving to the "Reds" team, he continued to dominate youth competitions and in the summer was invited to represent England's U-17 national team at the World Cup. The tournament ended in the quarterfinals for the English, and R. Sterling scored two goals during the championship. In the next season, he played in the reserve team, and on March 24, 2012, at the age of 17 years and 107 days, he played his first match for Liverpool in the Premier League. Soon he played two more games, starting all of them as a substitute. Later, the footballer admitted that after his debut for the Liverpool team, he experienced another special moment. In the summer of 2012, the player, who had not yet reached full legal age, became a father when the girl with whom he had a short relationship gave birth to his and R. Sterling's daughter. In the 2012-2013 season, the winger made his debut in the Europa League match, and the footballer was given more chances in the main Liverpool team. In October, he scored his first goal for the team, becoming the second-youngest scorer in the history of the "Reds", second only to Michael Owen. Moreover, a few days before his eighteenth birthday, he had already made his debut in the England national team, in a friendly match against Sweden. The player's first goal for the Liverpool team: Having received as many as 36 opportunities to perform on the field during the season, the young Liverpool talent scored two goals and made six assists, and his performances on the field were appreciated during the season. In December, he signed a new long-term contract with the team and significantly increased his salary. However, at the end of the season, the player found himself on the front pages of newspapers not for pleasant reasons. At the end of May, R. Sterling was accused of assaulting a woman, and he only managed to avoid more serious problems because two witnesses refused to testify before the trial. As he ended the previous season, R. Sterling began the new one - in early August, he was arrested for violence against his former girlfriend. However, the court acquitted the player when the accuser failed to provide sufficient evidence that the Englishman had violence towards the girl who was seeking help from the police. Nevertheless, off-field problems did not prevent him from shining in England. Starting with a goal in the League Cup match, he later scored in the Premier League, and soon became one of his team's key players. Throughout the 2013-2014 season, both Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and Arsenal teams suffered from R. Sterling, and he scored two goals against the latter. With 10 goals and nine assists over 38 season games, he also contributed to a great season for Liverpool, narrowly missing out on the Premier League title, finally finishing second. During the summer, despite the player's rough conduct in friendly matches, after which a conflict arose with Antonio Valencia, after which they were both sent off with red cards, R. Sterling took off with the England team to the 2014 World Cup. The tournament did not unfold for the English as they would have liked, and the national team went home after the group stage. However, the Liverpool winger was named the best player in England's first match by the BBC. In the following Premier League season, R. Sterling started fantastically: in the first match, he scored a goal and provided an assist, helping his team secure a 2-1 victory. Later, the player excelled in the match against Tottenham, and after his debut in the Champions League, in December, he also received the "Golden Boy" award. "I achieved all this through hard work. I am very happy that people have noticed me and my efforts to improve and giving my all for the Liverpool club. I am very grateful to be able to hold this trophy," the player said at the time. All of R. Sterling's goals for Liverpool: Just a few weeks later, his hard work was reflected in the Liverpool team's announcement that the player had been given short leave due to fatigue, which he spent in his native Jamaica. Upon his return to the team, Liverpool offered him a contract extension and a raise, but the player did not agree to the new offer, sparking a conflict between him and manager Brendan Rodgers. On February 9, 2015, B. Rodgers said that R. Sterling had rejected a "fantastic offer" to extend his contract. It was reported that Liverpool offered the player a £100,000 a week salary. Later, the coach added another phrase aimed at the player: "Our team certainly is not the one that will pay a lot, much more to a young player than he is worth at that point in his career." Amid contract problems, on March 27, 2015, it became a memorable day for R. Sterling. The player ran onto the field at Wembley Stadium in the match against the Lithuanian national team and scored his first goal representing the England team. Just a few days after the match, R. Sterling gave an exclusive interview to the BBC, stating that he had rejected the contract not because of money, emphasizing that he now plays earning three times less salary - £35,000 a week. The Englishman also revealed that he would not sign a new contract until the end of the season, but his interview did not sit well with B. Rodgers, who criticized the player's agent Aidy Ward. "It doesn't happen that a 20-year-old lifts the phone and asks for an interview with the BBC. That doesn't just happen, especially for a player like him. But of course, if other people ask him to do it, that's what he does," said Liverpool's coach. The coach also shared his opinion when the player was spotted smoking a shisha pipe, stating that such behavior is simply unacceptable. The accusations did not go unanswered, and the player's agent A. Ward, who had already decided not to renew the contract with Liverpool, responded with his arguments. "I don't care about the team's public relations policy or the club's situation. He will definitely not sign a new contract. Whether he is offered 700, 800, or even 900 thousand pounds a week," said A. Ward. With 11 goals and 9 assists during the summer, Manchester City became interested in the player, who had already rejected a £30 million offer from the club in June. Liverpool later rejected a £40 million offer, which did not sit well with R. Sterling, who was asked not to travel with the team to the preseason camp in Asia and missed the first two days of the team's training camp. Although the player later explained that he did so due to illness, the team's friends did not hide their criticism of the player. Ultimately, the player's situation was resolved when Manchester City acquired him for £44 million, making him one of the most expensive players of all time. A five-year contract was signed with the player, and huge expectations were tied to him. Joining City, he began his career with the team powerfully: in his debut friendly match, it took him just three minutes to score his first goal for the club. In October, the player scored his first career hat-trick against Bournemouth, and in December, in the dying minutes of the match, he scored two goals against Gladbach, helping the team change the result from 1-2 to 4-2. R. Sterling's great performance in the match against Bournemouth: However, the second half of the season was not as successful for him, and at one point, he even lost his place in the starting lineup. Statistically, he had similar performances to the previous season, scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists. In the summer of 2016, Pep Guardiola took over as the team's coach, who did not hide his admiration for the player. The player warmed up to the new coach, starting the season as the Premier League's player of the month. R. Sterling's improvement was evident in his statistical performance: although he scored one goal less - 10, he greatly improved his assist statistics, making 19 assists in a year. However, rumors surfaced in the summer that P. Guardiola had offered A. Sanchez with a cash compensation for R. Sterling, but both players ultimately remained in their teams. Despite these rumors, R. Sterling began the season fantastically and is one of the reasons for a successful start to the Man City season: in just 15 matches, he had already achieved the productivity of the previous season, adding three assists to his 10 goals. However, the player also managed to receive a foolish red card when he received his second yellow card for celebrating a goal with fans off the field. At just 22 years old, the player has played in 35 matches representing the England national team, but apart from scoring a goal against Lithuania, he only managed to mark once. Raheem Sterling's career: 2002-2015 "Liverpool" - 129 matches, 23 goals; 2015- "Manchester City" - 109 matches, 31 goals. England national team - 35 matches, 2 goals. Famous players of this age group (born in 1994-1995) who did not win this title: John Stones, Adnan Januzaj, Saul Niguez, Gerard Deulofeu, Sandro Ramirez, Mateo Kovacic, Kingsley Coman, Marquinhos, Adrien Rabiot, Arkadiusz Milik.
