Max Dowman makes Champions League history after coming off bench for Arsenal

Max Dowman became the first 15-year-old to play in the Champions League when he was introduced as an Arsenal substitute against Slavia Prague.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the five youngest players in the competition, featuring some very familiar names.

Max Dowman

Slavia Prague v ARSENAL, November 2025 – 15 years, 308 days

The second-youngest player in Premier League history, trailing only team-mate Ethan Nwaneri, Dowman made Champions League history outright as he replaced Leandro Trossard on Tuesday. Dowman, who will turn 16 on New Year’s Eve, has all this season available to him to break the record as the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer, held by James Vaughan at 16 years and 270 days.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Zenit St Petersburg v BORUSSIA DORTMUND, December 2020 – 16 years, 18 days

Already a Germany Under-16 international, Moukoko broke a long-standing record as the Champions League’s youngest player when he came on as a substitute for Felix Passlack just before the hour mark. He is both the youngest player and goalscorer in the Bundesliga but left Dortmund in August 2024, first on loan to Nice before a permanent move this season to FC Copenhagen.

Lamine Yamal

BARCELONA v Royal Antwerp, September 2023 – 16 years, 68 days

Barca and Spain’s teenage sensation made his debut in the competition as a second-half substitute for Joao Felix in a 5-0 win over the Belgian side. He went on to make 10 appearances in that season’s competition but missed out on the chance to dethrone fellow Barcelona prodigy Ansu Fati as the youngest Champions League goalscorer, instead slotting in second on that list when he netted against Monaco a year to the day from his debut.

Celestine Babayaro

Steaua Bucharest v ANDERLECHT, November 1994 – 16 years, 86 days

Babayaro held the record as the youngest player for just over 26 years until edged out by Moukoko – though it was not an occasion to remember fondly as he was sent off in the first half of a 1-1 draw in Romania. The full-back went on to better things, winning international honours with Nigeria and playing Premier League football with Chelsea and Newcastle.

Rayan Cherki

Zenit St Petersburg v LYON, November 2019 – 16 years, 102 days

Cherki, a new signing and quickly emerging star for Manchester City this season, replaced another future Premier League player in Maxwel Cornet for his 2019 debut at Europe’s top table. A 2-0 defeat to Zenit made it an inauspicious start for him too, and after also featuring from the bench in that season’s semi-final loss to Bayern Munich, he did not return to the competition until his move to City.