UEFA Youth League alumni thriving at EURO

Since 2013/14 some of the most promising players across the continent have been competing with their clubs in the UEFA Youth League and many are appearing, fully formed, at UEFA EURO 2024.

All 24 squads contain players with some experience in the Youth League, a total of almost 150. Among them are the likes of Phil Foden, Kylian Mbappé, Kai Havertz, Davide Frattesi, Nathan Aké and Gonçalo Ramos.

The Youth League consists of a mixture of the Under-19 sections of UEFA Champions League contenders and national domestic champions at that level, who compete in separate paths before coming together for a knockout phase.

The season ends with a four-team final tournament, usually played in Nyon, Switzerland, with a roll of honour including Barcelona, Chelsea, Salzburg, Porto, Real Madrid, Benfica and AZ Alkmaar joined in April by Olympiacos, who beat their seniors by a few weeks to claim Greece's first UEFA club title.

The competition is about more than claiming a trophy, or even producing the stars of the future, with the promotion of friendship and respect, as well as giving young players the sheer experience of playing European football, just as important. Still, it is a valuable apprenticeship for those who one day might step up to a level like a EURO final tournament.

Portugal centre-back Rúben Dias made 14 Youth League appearances while at Benfica, reaching the 2017 final, and sings the praises of the competition. “We got to train with the Champions League ball. I don't know what's it like for other people but, for me, that meant a lot. It's powerful. It definitely gives you more encouragement to work because you get a taste of that dream early on."

Leroy Sané, who played in the first two editions of the Youth League with Schalke and is in the hosts' squad in Germany a decade on, concurs: "For us it was a massive experience. You play against teams that you don't normally face at the youth level, and since there are not many tournaments abroad, it's a really good comparison to measure yourself against teams from other countries."

That goes too for stars of past EUROs now coaching in the Youth League. Robin van Persie last season led Feyenoord and in the group stage faced an Atlético side under Fernando Torres. "Every ten days or so you step into a different world," Van Persie told UEFA.com.

"There are players who just a few years ago were still playing in the UEFA Youth League who are now playing in the UEFA Champions League proper. The same will happen with some of the same coaches who have first worked in the Youth League."

With the Youth League only having its 11th edition in 2024/25, reformatting in conjunction with the new looks to UEFA's senior men's club competitions, the list of graduates going on to star at EURO can only increase. And even if none of the current quartet able to add a winners' medal in Germany to their Youth League laurel do so this summer, the first double victor is only a matter of time.