What happened to the 100 most exciting young footballers of 2010
What were you doing back in 2010? And as we near the end of the decade, have things panned out the way you wanted them to?
For some footballers, success seems to have come naturally.
Young players can often be tipped for the top from a very early age, and they ultimately get there through hard work and often a little bit of luck.
For others though, it ends up being a different story.
Back in 2010, Spanish publication Don Balon told the world the stories of who they saw as the 100 best young footballers - players who were 21 or under on January 1, 2010 - on the planet.
As we near the end of 2019, here's how they've got on.
Dominic Adiyiah (Reggina)The Ghanaian forward was on the first of four loan spells away from AC Milan in 2010, but he'd never play for the San Siro giants.
He's spent the past four years in Thailand, now at Sisaket.
Like many before and after him, the Belgian ended up leaving Ajax behind in 2013.
He first joined Atletico Madrid for a couple of years and is now established one of the Premier League top centre-backs at Tottenham .
Hamdan Al-Kamali (Al Wahda)The Emirati is still at Al Wahda 10 years on, and has 52 caps for the UAE.
Jano Ananidze (Spartak Moscow)The 42-times Georgia international attacking midfielder is still at Spartak, although he did join Rostov on loan on 2013/14 and Krylia Sovetov Samara last season.
Now in his second spell at Swansea City, via West Ham , the Ghana captain was the BBC’s African Footballer of the Year in 2011.
Khouma Babacar (Fiorentina)The Senegalese forward spent several years with Fiorentina although most of those were out on loan.
He joined Sassuolo in 2018 and they've loaned him out again, this time to Lecce.
Holger Badstuber (Bayern)Seen as the future of Bayern and Germany back in 2010, injuries severely hampered the centre-back's career with the perennial Bundesliga champions, although he is now a regular at Stuttgart.
The Welshman left Spurs for Real Madrid for a then world record fee in 2013, and he’s still there. Just about.
Mario Balotelli ( Manchester City )Played his part in City’s 2011/12 title success, the Italian then embarked on a career in which off-field antics have been more well-chronicled than on-field performances.
Now back in Italy at Brescia, via AC Milan, Liverpool , Nice and Marseille.
Ben Sahar (Hapoel Tel Aviv)After Chelsea (and loans at QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Portsmouth) didn't work out for the Israeli, things went better for him back home.
Spells in France, Germany and Holland followed, and the 43-times capped forward has now been at Hapoel Be'er Sheva since 2015.
Bojan (FC Barcelona)Once considered a contemporary of Lionel Messi, the nimble attacker ended up at Stoke via Roma, Milan and Ajax.
After a couple more loans he's now in Canada with Montral Impact.
Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinita)The 37-times capped South Korean had three years at Cardiff and a brief spell at Wigan, but is now back home with Ulsan Hyundai.
A regular in mid-table Ligue 1 sides and therefore the transfer gossip columns, the Algerian winger moved back to France this summer with Saint-Etienne after spells with Real Betis and Celta Vigo.
Dedryck Boyata (Manchester City)The Belgian was looking to follow in Vincent Kompany’s footsteps at City, but never quite convinced.
Fared better over four years at Celtic though, and now at Hertha Berlin.
Breno (Bayern)After playing 33 times for Bayern, the Brazilian defender - who had suffered serious injury problems and as a result psychological issues, including depression - was arrested for arson following a fire at his villa.
He was sentenced to 45 months in prison in July 2012, but ultimately served just 13 after getting his sentence reduced when it was proved that he was under the influence of dangerous medication.
He's now back in Brazil with Vasco da Gama.
Sergio Canales (Real Madrid)Billed as Real Madrid's bright new hope when he joined in 2010, the midfielder has ended up at Valencia, Real Sociedad and now Real Betis, picking up his first two Spain caps this year.
Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez (Standard Liege)The Moroccan midfielder had a brief spell at Russian upstarts Anzhi Makhachkala, went back to Standard Liege, moved onto Benfica, Granada and Olympiakos, and now he's back at Standard for a third time.
Goals at Dutch youth level and on his breakthrough at Feyenoord led to the forward joining Inter Milan, but after flopping there he headed off around Europe and is now in South Korea with Gyeongnam.
Diego Contento (Bayern)Spent four years on the fringes at Bayern before more regular football in four more at Bordeaux, but injury has severely restricted him since joining Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2018.
Phillippe Coutinho (Internazionale)Left Inter for Liverpool in early 2013, and shone at Anfield as part of attacking, entertaining sides so much that he got his dream move to Barcelona in 2018, but now at Bayern Munich on loan.
There were initial question marks over the Spaniard when he joined Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011, but he’s proven to be a brilliant addition.
Alvaro Domínguez (Atletico Madrid)A member of the Atletico squad that won the Europa League in 2010 and 2012, the midfielder also won two Spain caps in the latter year as well as joining Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Sadly he picked up chronic back problems in Germany and was forced to retire in 2016 at the age of 27.
Tipped for the top at Barcelona, it was thought that Spurs had snapped up a gem when they brought in Dos Santos, but he ended up on loan at Ipswich.
A few moves later he found a home at LA Galaxy, but this year left them for Mexican side America.
Douglas Costa (Shakhtar)Like so many Brazilians before him, Douglas Costa's first move into Europe was with Shakhtar Donetsk, where he spent five years and honed his skills in order to allow him to progress at the highest level.
That has come with Bayern Munich and now Juventus , while he's been a league champion in each of the last four seasons.
Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow)Still at CSKA Moscow and one of the stars of Russian football, the attacking midfielder impressed at Euro 2012 but was injury-hit at the World Cup last summer.
Gueida Fofana (Le Havre)The defensive midfielder joined Lyon in 2011 and started out impressively, but persistent ankle injuries ended his career in 2017.
Paulo Henrique Ganso (Santos)The eight-times capped Brazilian midfielder developed at Sao Paulo before moving onto Sevilla in 2016, but it never quite happened for him there and now he's back in Brazil with Fluminense.
Got his move to Europe with Dnipro in 2011, and has since played for Gremio, Zenit, Fenerbahce and now Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while quietly amassing 10 Brazil caps.
Maxime Gonalons (Lyon)Was a mainstay at Lyon for eight seasons before joining Roma in 2017, and he's now on loan at Granada via Sevilla.
Mario Götze (Dortmund)Back at Dortmund after a spell at Bayern, Gotze will always have the 2014 World Cup final winning goal to his name even if his club career hasn’t quite kicked on.
Shone at Atletico Madrid and became a mainstay of the France team.
Now a World Cup winner and a Barcelona forward.
Eden Hazard (Lille)Developed his reputation to become one of the very best in the Premier League over seven seasons at Chelsea , before making a long-expected move to Real Madrid this summer.
Jordan Henderson (Sunderland)Eyebrows were raised when Liverpool paid near £20million for the young midfielder in 2011, but eight years later he’s a Champions League winning captain.
The 50-times capped Norway international is into his fourth season at Hull City after joining from AZ Alkmaar, although he's currently out of the team having previously been captain.
Abel Hernández (Palermo)Speaking of Hull City, the Uruguayan forward was there for four years before joining CSKA Moscow last year, and now Al Ahli.
Ander Herrera (Zaragoza)Rose to prominence under Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao, and impressed Manchester United so much that they ended up signing him.
Left for PSG in the summer.
Lewis Holtby (Mainz)Born in Germany to an English father, there was once much excitement about the midfielder possibly choosing to represent the Three Lions, but he ended up with three caps for Germany.
He did move to England though, joining Tottenham from Schalke after his loan at Mainz, while he also had loans at Fulham and Hamburg, who he later joined permanently.
Having been without a club this summer, Holtby joined Championship side Blackburn Rovers last month.
After a year at Monaco, the Colombian shot to world prominence with brilliant displays at the 2014 World Cup, which earned him a move to Real Madrid.
It’s been up and down for him there, but now he’s back after two years on loan at Bayern Munich.
Stefan Jovetic (Fiorentina)One of Europe's hottest properties, Jovetic was wanted by Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez in the summer of 2009 only to stay at Fiorentina for four more years.
He ended up moving to England with Manchester City in 2013, but injuries there ensured he never really reached his potential, and after spells with Inter Milan and Sevilla he's now at Monaco.
Prague-born, the Czech international is now back at Sparta Prague following moves to Eintracht Frankfurt, a loan back to Sparta and then FC Midtjylland.
Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund)A key part of Dortmund's 2011 and 2012 title winning teams, Kagawa was somewhat misused during two years at Manchester United, before he rejoined Dortmund.
Closing in on 100 caps for Japan, he's now in Spain with Real Zaragoza.
Gael Kakuta (Chelsea)The young Frenchman was caught up in a 'tapping up' scandal over his move from Lens to Chelsea in 2007, and that seemed to hang over him for the rest of his career.
He went on six loan spells away from Stamford Bridge - including at Fulham and Bolton - and after stopping by in various countries including Holland, Italy, Spain and China, he's now back in France with Amiens.
Alan Kardec (Benfica)The Brazilian striker never quite cut it at Benfica, but he's been prolific for Jordi Cruyff's Chinese Super League side Chongqing Dangdai Lifan since 2016.
Simon Kjaer (Wolfsburg)The Denmark captain has regularly been linked with Premier League moves, but is now on loan from Sevilla at Atalanta after spells with Roma, Lille and Fenerbahce.
The goalkeeper was a Dynamo player for nine years without being their No.1, and after four loan moves he joined Al-Fateh in Saudi Arabia this year.
Ismail Koybasi (Besiktas)The Turkey international made the controversial step from Besiktas to Fenerbahce in 2016, and is now in Spain with Granada.
Toni Kroos (Bayern)Looked as though he’d be a Bayern midfielder forever, before the summer of 2014 when he won the World Cup and joined Real Madrid, where he still resides.
Ended up out in the UAE at Al Jazira via a spell in Brazil, before a West Ham masterstroke to bring him to the Premier League in the summer of 2015.
Four years later he’s still there, and a Hammers fans' favourite.
Adem Ljajic (Fiorentina)The Serbian attacking midfielder joined Besiktas permanently this summer after a successful loan spell last season, while he's got 41 international caps.
Dejan Lovren (Lyon)An impressive 2013/14 season at Southampton earned the Croatian a move to Liverpool, and he’s still there despite some ups and downs.
Tipped for the top from a very young age, the forward joined Chelsea shortly after turning 18 only to be farmed out on loan to West Brom and then Everton , joining the latter permanently.
Manchester United didn’t work out from there, and now he’s at Inter.
Lukman Haruna (Monaco)The Nigerian had successful years with Dynamo Kiev as he also picked up 13 international caps, but he's now in Tunisia with Tataouine.
Federico Macheda (Manchester United)Forever remembered for *that* United goal against Aston Villa, the Italian forward’s career has since taken in Sampdoria, QPR, Stuttgart, Doncaster, Birmingham, Cardiff , Nottingham Forest, Novara and now Panathinaikos.
He’s still only 28.
Guido Marilungo (Sampdoria)The Italian forward has bounced around Serie A, B and now C with Ternana, but his goalscoring record has never been that special.
Marko Marin (Werder Bremen)The German got his move to Chelsea in 2012, from where he left on four separate loan spells before joining Olympiakos and now Red Star Belgrade.
Emmanuel Mayuka (Young Boys)The Zambian forward joined Southampton in 2012 but never really did anything, and so left for France, Israel and Egypt.
Now 28, he's back home with the brilliantly named Green Buffaloes.
Thomas Müller (Bayern)The 2014 World Cup winner is still at Bayern and probably will be forever, but his Germany career looks over after 100 caps.
Iker Muniain (Athletic Bilbao)Linked with pretty much everyone over the past decade, it is remarkable to think Munain is still only 26.
He's still at Bilbao, and captains them.
Marc Muniesa (Barcelona)The defender only played four games for Barca before leaving for Stoke in 2013, and after five years there he joined Girona, and now Al-Arabi.
The centre-back stayed with Palermo until 2015, and is now back home in Argentina with Lanus.
Yann M'Vila (Rennes)Capped 22 times for France, the midfielder joined Rubin Kazan in 2013 and then had loans at Inter Milan and Sunderland, although he's now back in France with Saint-Etienne.
Tomas Necid (CSKA Moscow)The 44-times capped Czech forward makes his living in Dutch football with ADO Den Haag, after a varied career which has taken him to Greece, Turkey and Poland.
Achieved world superstardom at Barcelona before getting his Ballon d’Or-seeking move to PSG, and now wants to go back to the Nou Camp.
Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos)Albania-born, the Greek international was highly-rated for a long time as he broke through in the game, but underwhelming spells at several clubs have now led him to Hapoel Ashkelon in Israel.
Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco)The long-serving Cameroon centre-back spent his best years with Marseille, and is these days at Torino.
The Argentina international was seen as PSG's first big addition when they got him from Palermo in 2011, and he's now back in Italy with Roma.
Alexandre Pato (Milan)For years the Brazilian was considered to be the next big thing in both Brazilian and European football, but he never quite recaptured the initial form he showed when breaking through at Milan.
Now 30, his career has taken in Corinthians, Sao Paulo, Chelsea, Villarreal, Tianjin Tianhai and now Sao Paulo again.
A La Liga staple with over 100 games for each of Almeria and Valencia, the once-capped Argentinean is now well on the way to the same amount for Espanyol.
Miralem Pjanic (Lyon)The Bosnian shone at Lyon and has been lighting it up in Italy ever since 2011, first with Roma and now with Juventus.
Rafael (Manchester United)The right-back was the more successful of the Da Silva twins at United, and now he’s played over 100 games for Lyon.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy (Shakhtar)The rough and ready defender spent 10 years in the Shakhtar first-team before joining Zenit earlier this year.
A Brazilian full-back, Renan has played for several clubs in his homeland and is now with Ponte Preta.
Marco Reus (Mönchengladbach)Joined Borussia Dortmund in 2012 and is still there, establishing himself as one of the best attackers in the Bundesliga this decade.
Emmanuel Riviere (Saint-Etienne)A France under-21 international, Riviere had a steady scoring record in Ligue 1 before joining Newcastle in 2014, and promptly scoring once in 26 Premier League games.
He's now in Italy's Serie B with Cosenza.
Jack Rodwell (Everton)Tipped for the top at Goodison Park, Rodwell was said to have outgrown Everton by 2012, when he joined Manchester City for £15million.
It didn’t work out there though, and the three-times capped England international is now without a club via an unhappy spell at Sunderland and a brief one at Blackburn.
Salomon Rondón (Málaga)The powerful Venezuelan forward has been a handful wherever he’s been, and after Malaga joined Rubin Kazan, Zenit St Petersburg, West Brom, Newcastle and now Dalian Yifang in China.
After a move to Napoli didn't work out well, the centre-back impressed at Valencia and Villarreal.
Now 30, he's trying his luck outside of Spain again with Besiktas.
Mamadou Sakho (PSG)Had looked set to be a PSG figurehead before the money arrived and he lost his place.
The French centre-back joined Liverpool in 2013 and had his moments at Anfield before being shipped off to Crystal Palace .
Davide Santon (Internazionale)Viewed as one of the next generation of Italian defenders to take over the mantle from the likes of Paolo Maldini, there was much excitement when Santon broke into the team at Inter. And then not much happened.
He's since gone to Newcastle, back to Inter, joined Roma and picked up eight Italy caps.
Georgi Shchennikov (CSKA Moscow)The left-sided 28-year-old is still with CSKA, but although he was a part of the 2014 World Cup squad his international career has never quite taken off.
Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel)The bright spark of the Swiss League spent time on the fringes at Bayern Munich and Inter before starring at Stoke, and now going back to the fringes at Liverpool.
Harmeet Singh (Valerenga)A staple in Scandinavian football, the defensive midfielder has played for several clubs across Norway and Sweden, and is now with HJK Helsinki in the latter.
Showed his Premier League midfield credentials at Newcastle before a move to Tottenham, where he eventually became a fans’ favourite after a poor start.
Robin Soder (Gothenburg)The Swedish striker stayed with Gothenburg for several years, although he was never that prolific, and he's now back there after spells with Esbjerg and Lokeren in Belgium.
Miroslav Stoch (Fenerbahce)The small, squat Slovakian winger never quite made the grade at Chelsea, and these days finds himself at PAOK in Greece, the club he joined on his first loan move from Fenerbahce in 2013.
The forward never really cut it at Lyon, and after his loan to Toulouse he ended up at Lausanne-Sport and St Gallen in Switzerland, and now ES Sahel in Tunisia.
Thiago Alcantara (Barcelona)Seemed set to be Barca’s next Xavi or Andres Iniesta before Pep Guardiola tempted him to Bayern Munich in 2013, and he’s still there.
Lacina Traoré (Cluj)The 6ft 8ins Ivory Coast forward has gone full circle and is now back at Cluj via Anzhi Makhachkala, Monaco, Everton (two games, one goal), CSKA Moscow, Sporting Gijon, Amiens and Ujpest.
After impressing at Sporting Lisbon the forward is now remembered in England for a 25 game, one goal Premier League spell with Norwich in 2013/14.
The twice-capped Dutch forward has since been seen at Saint-Etienne, Real Betis, Vitesse and now Basel.
Carlos Vela ( Arsenal )Looked to be a sure thing in terms of 'making it' as he broke through at Arsenal, but most of his experience at the Emirates seemed to come in the League Cup.
Eventually impressed at Real Sociedad before moving onto Los Angeles FC, where he's currently ripping it up.
Middlesbrough and Burnley feature among the forward's clubs, but he has always been more at home in Belgium, and has impressive scoring records for Genk and current employers Club Brugge.
Ante Vukusic (Hadjuk Split)The once-capped Croatian striker has never really impressed anywhere other than Hajduk Split, and he's now in Slovenia with Olimpija Ljubljana.
Theo Walcott (Arsenal)A player tipped for great things never quite convinced everyone despite 397 games and 108 goals for Arsenal, and 47 caps for England.
Can these days be spotted on Everton's bench.
Vladimir Weiss (Rangers)A third generation Slovakian footballer called Vladimir Weiss, the winger was on loan in Glasgow from Manchester City where he was highly-rated.
He's been with Al-Gharafa in Qatar since 2016.
Georginio Wijnaldum (Feyenoord)First made a move within Dutch football to PSV, and then after a season at Newcastle he’s now a firm fixture at Liverpool after joining in 2016.
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)Tipped for the top for so long, Wilshere had his moments with Arsenal and England only for his fitness to let him down.
Still doing a good job for West Ham though.
Danny Wilson (Liverpool)There were comparisons with some of Liverpool’s great Scots when the defender signed for the Reds in 2010, but he’d only play nine games for the club.
After stints at Blackpool, Bristol City, Hearts and Rangers, he’s now in the MLS with Colorado Rapids.
Siyanda Xulu (Mamelodi Sundowns)The South African defender tried out European football with Rostov in 2012, which was also the year he won the first of seven international caps.
Now with Maritzburg United back home.
Andriy Yarmolenko (Dinamo Kiev)The Ukrainian was linked with moves away from Dynamo Kiev for years, but ultimately didn’t make one until 2017 when he joined Borussia Dortmund.
After a year there he’s impressing at West Ham.
Sercan Yildirim (Bursaspor)The forward has never left Turkish football, but his big move to Galatasaray didn't quite work out as he was loaned out five times.
Now with newly-promoted top-flight outfit Fatih Karagumruk.
READ ON APP