What Happened to 14 Wonderkids Marca Tipped to Be Great in 2018

In brief
In 2018, Marca made predictions on 14 players they thought would become football superstars.
Expectations were exceeded by players like Vinicius Junior and Phil Foden.
Jadon Sancho is among the others who have fallen short of Marca’s expectations.
It is always a bit of a poisoned chalice to make predictions about the future of some of the best young football players. They only live up to your expectations if you predict that they will become a superstar and they do. If they fall short of that, they are immediately labelled a failure.

Even young people who seem to have endless promise might be ruined by the smallest setbacks, such as accidents or problems with their own mindset. Sometimes it’s better to let nature take its course than of trying to predict the future because there are so many factors at play.

In 2018, the Spanish journal Marca did just that, naming 14 wonderkids they believed could be the future leaders of football. Here, we’ll examine who these faces were and if the presumptions were accurate or completely incorrect.

Players Marca Got Right

Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Phil Foden, Ferran Torres

We start with a Real Madrid duo, starting with the players Marca was spot on with. Over the past six months, Los Blancos have won numerous accolades both at home and in European contests, and Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo have been essential to everything they have accomplished.

Of course, Vinicius is the more well-known of the two because he finished second in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings, which much displeased him. However, Rodrygo’s contributions are sometimes disregarded even if they are crucial.

After winning the 2024 PFA Player of the Year award, Phil Foden is undoubtedly a hit even though he may not be having the finest season. Few will be able to stop the Englishman once he’s back to his best.

Ferran Torres, a former teammate, has also been selected as a successful candidate. Even though he isn’t on par with the other three and doesn’t even start for Barcelona very often these days, his steady presence and dependability for several major teams, together with the fact that he helped Spain win Euro 2024, just make him eligible.

Jury Is Still Out

Moise Kean, Ethan Ampadu, Jadon Sancho, Timothy Weah, Sergio Gomez

This category is intended for players who have failed terribly, have not succeeded in meeting expectations, or still have opportunity to improve their situation. On the other hand, Jadon Sancho would have to be the one to leave at this point. The Englishman’s potential was limitless, yet he ended up becoming one of Manchester United’s worst acquisitions ever. He’s on thin ice because people are growing impatient with him because nothing at Chelsea seems to have changed.

In general, Moise Kean was also viewed as a failing striker. That was before to his transfer to Fiorentina, where he is currently a highly effective goal scorer. Ethan Ampadu, the captain of Leeds United, is expected to make a comeback to the Premier League.

Being the son of Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, Timothy Weah had a lot of pressure, but he overcame it to build a decent career that now lands him at Juventus. Sergio Gomez is back in Spain for Real Sociedad following a two-year stay at Manchester City, and he appears to be a much greater threat higher up the pitch.

Players Marca Got Wrong

Abel Ruiz, Victor Mollejo, Willem Geubbels, Pietro Pellegri, Jann-Fiete Arp

Now for the players who fell short of Marca’s standards. Abel Ruiz, who attended the renowned La Masia academy and briefly played for Roma, is currently a rotation option for Girona due to his lacklustre scoring record. At the same time, Victor Mollejo, 24, continues to play for the Atletico Madrid B Team and shows no signs of being given regular opportunities under Diego Simeone.

Despite being a France under-19 international, Willem Geubbels never advanced. In Switzerland, he plays for St. Gallen. Pietro Pellegri had some especially high expectations, however in the 2024–2025 season, the Italian has only started 19% of his Serie A games for Empoli. Lastly, Jann-Fiete Arp plays for the Bundesliga’s bottom-place team, Holstein Kiel.

Marca’s 14 Future Superstar Predictions

Achievement

Not sure

Not succeeding

Vinicius Jr.

Kean Moise

Ruiz, Abel

Rodrygo

Ampadu Ethan

Mollejo, Victor

Foden, Phil

Sancho, Jadon