Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho: "I want to win the Ballon d’Or like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo"
Borussia Dortmund and England teenager Jadon Sancho says he hopes to one day emulate multiple Ballon d'Or winners Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, after topping goal.com's list of the best 50 players under the age of 19.
Sancho beat Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior to the NxGn 2019 award, after a procession of dazzling displays in the Bundesliga, and is already dreaming of becoming the best player in the world.
"It's a real honour to win this award," Sancho told Goal. "There are a lot of great players my age out there and to be chosen the best player of NxGn is really good for me and for my family.
"Now I’ve just got to keep working hard. This is not the end of it. I dream of winning the Ballon d’Or, given the likes of those who have won it previously, like Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, [Luka] Modric and Ronaldinho. All these greats have won it, so I feel like that should be a big inspiration to everyone in the world that plays football."
Watch: Up close with Jadon Sancho
Sancho is heading in the right direction. Since trading Manchester City's youth academy for Dortmund as a 17-year-old in summer 2017, the London native has become a first-team regular for BVB and broken into the England senior side, smashing all manner of records along the way.
This season alone he has surpassed Lukas Podolski as the youngest player to score nine Bundesliga goals, while his impressive tally of 12 league assists is a continental best shared with Barcelona's Messi.
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Bundesliga stars in the making
Dortmund's Sancho is one of eight Bundesliga players to feature in the NxGn2019 top 50.
Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies ranked sixth to cap a memorable week in his budding career, having only joined the record champions from Vanvouver Whitecaps in January. The 18-year-old scored his first Bundesliga goal in the recent win over Mainz, earning high praise indeed from Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, whose post-match response was to label the Canadian "a diamond, possibly the fastest player in the Bundesliga".
Bayer Leverkusen's Brazilian winger Paulinho and future Bayern striker Jann-Fiete Arp (currently of Hamburg in Bundesliga 2) made the top 20 and 30 respectively, followed by Arsenal-owned RB Leipzig midfielder Emile Smith Rowe (32nd); Werder Bremen's USA international striker Josh Sargent (34th); Dortmund's Spanish winger Sergio Gomez (36th); VfB Stuttgart defender Ozan Kabak (40th); and Bayern rookie goalkeeper Christian Früchtl (50th).
The NxGn2019 award celebrates the most promising players born since 1 January 2000.
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