Every now and then, there is bound to have an extremely talented young footballer who is billed as the next Maradona, Zidane or Giggs.

Some of these wonderkids truly make it to the highest level, while many others fade away during the latter stages of their football careers.

Below is sgParlay.com's Top 10 Wonderkids of the Yesteryear (not in any order) that have developed into superstars and achieve certain high levels of standard and recognition.

If you do not agree with the list or have a better nomination, you may email me at admin@sgparlay.com.

Also find out the Top 10 Fallen Wonderkids

Robinho (born 25th January 1984) rose to fame when, at an age of only 15, he was handpicked by the legendary Pele to be his heir. He made his debut with Santos at 17, and scored 10 goals in his first season to help Santos clinched the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2002. Robinho improved further in the subsequent seasons, scoring 21 goals in 2004 to win another title for Santos. Blessed with excellent dribbling skills and trickery, his stepovers often frustrated the opposition defenders.

However in 2005, he was badly affected by the kidnap of his mother and was determined to move away from Brazil. Real Madrid was alerted and paid 24 million euros to bring him to the Spanish capital. Robinho's first season at Real Madrid was a fruitful one, as he net 14 goals in 37 appearances. He won the Spanish La Liga title in the season of 2006/07. However, his conflict with Real Madrid's top management escalated when he found out he was being used in a failed bid for Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. Bitter and disappointed, Robinho demanded a transfer in 2008, with Chelsea his preferred destination.

Chelsea could not meet Real Madrid's valuation of Rohinho and Manchester City, under the new ownership of the cashrich Abu Dhabi United Group, splashed 32.5 million pounds for his signature. Robinho impressed in his EPL debut season as he scored 14 goals to finished as the league's 4th top scorer.

At international level, Robinho is an established player for the Brazil national team. Still only 25 in 2009, he has already gained 71 caps, scoring 19 goals in the process. If he maintains his form and fitness, it is a matter of time before Robinho joins the club of century caps.

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Cristiano Ronaldo (born 5th February 1985) became the world's most expensive player in 2009 when Real Madrid splashed 80 million pounds to lure him from Manchester United.

The tricky winger first played for Portugal's Sporting since 1997, and has progressed through the ranks, making to the senior squad four years later. In a friendly against Manchester United, Ronaldo left a deep impression as he helped Sporting defeat the English giant 3-1. Alex Ferguson made his move quickly in securing the 18-year-old for more than 12 million pounds.

Ronaldo's first season with Manchester United was a quiet one, as he only scored 6 in 40 appearances. He had critics about his flashy but over exaggerated stepovers and dives. However, in his subsequent seasons except the last one before he left the club, his goal tally and key contributions improved every year.

The season of 2007/08 represented Ronaldo's finest year as he plundered 42 goals in 49 games, helping Manchester United to win the league title and the Champions League. Ronaldo himself was awarded the Ballon d'Or and the World Player of the Year.

With Manchester United and the EPL, Ronaldo has won almost every trophies and personal honours available. After consistent rumours, Ronaldo finally got his wish in 2009 to join Real Madrid, the dream club he claimed he supported since boyhood, for the record transfer fee.

Since making his debut for Portugal in 2003, Ronaldo has been a regular. He is seen as a natural heir to the legendary Figo. He helped Portugal charge all the way to the final of Euro2004 but was beaten by underdog Greece. At 22 in 2007, Ronaldo was made captain of Portugal. By 2009, he has already participated in 64 international appearances and scored 22 goals.

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After Juan Riquelme, Pablo Aimar and Andres D'Alessandro, Lionel Messi (born 24th June 1987) is also dubbed as the next Maradona. But what makes Messi really different is that, apart from his comparable dribbling and passing skills, the achievement and consistency he possesses have surpassed all the Argentine players mentioned.

Messi first played football for Argentine club Newell's Old Boys since 1995. He was bothered by a growth hormone deficiency since young and Barcelona, after being impressed by his talents and signing him in 2000, offered treatment to cure his illness.

Messi was not unfancied by the big names in Barcelona and made his debut in 2003, alongside with former Barcelona great Ronaldinho. At 17, he was the youngest ever player to play in the Spanish La Liga and was also the youngest goalscorer until another Barcelona wonderkid Bojan Krkic in 2007.

Messi's reputation as Maradona's heir was enhanced after he scored a memorable solo goal against Getafe. Dribbling past 5 opponents and slotting the goal past the goalkeeper, Messi's wondergoal was often compared to Maradona's solo effort against England in 1986.

Messi took over the number 10 jersey and became Barcelona's main playmaker after Ronaldinho left the club in 2008. In the season of 2008/09, Messi helped Barcelona create history by becoming the first Spanish club to win the treble, which included the league title, the Spanish Cup and the Champions League. In his best ever season to date, Messi scored 38 goals and created 18.

Messi has won numerous personal awards and is the World Young Player of the Year three times in a row from 2005 to 2008. He also took part in the 2008 Olympics in which he helped Argentina to clinch the gold medal. Since being called up in 2005, Messi has been a regular with the national team and has gained 38 caps and 12 goals.

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Wayne Rooney (born 24th October 1985) presented himself on the world stage in 2002 when he scored the winning goal against Arsenal that ended the Gunner's 30-game unbeaten run. He was just five days before turning 17, and that made him the youngest goalscorer in the Premier League then.

Rooney played for his childhood club Everton since 10, and rose through the ranks before making his debut for the senior team in 2002. When he was 18, Manchester United bidded for him for 25 million pounds. Seeing that Everton had little chance of taking part in a European competition, an ambitious Rooney opted to leave the club and join the biggest club in England.

Rooney's Manchester United debut was an impressive one, as he scored a hattrick against Fenerbahce in a Champions League game. He finished with 17 goals in his debut season, earning him the World Young Player of the Year award. When Manchester United's main striker Ruud van Nistelrooy left for Real Madrid in 2007, Rooney took over the number 10 shirt. By the end of the 2008/09 season, Rooney has scored almost 100 goals for Manchester United.

Rooney has won three league titles with the Red Devils, and a Champions League medal in 2008. The only club trophy that escaped his hands so far is the FA Cup.

Rooney is also the former youngest player and goalscorer for England. He made his breakthrough as early as 2003, when he was still with Everton. By 2009, a 23-year-old Rooney already has 52 caps and 24 international goals. If he can maintain his fitness and keep his temperament in check, it will be no surprise that he will go on to break England's caps and goals' records.

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When Fernando Torres (born 20th March 1984) was 10, he took part in a youth league and scored 55 goals in a season. Atletico Madrid took interest of him and gave him a trial in 1995.

After playing for the Atletico Madrid youth team, Torres made his breakthrough in 2001 when Atletico Madrid, still in the Sehunda Division, handed him his debut. Aged only 17, Torres did not exactly impress in the second-tier league, where he only scored 6 in 36 appearances.

With Atletico Madrid promoted to the Primera Division in 2002, Torres announced his arrival at the highest level of the Spanish league. His progress was by leaps and bounds, as he became Atletico Madrid's main striker, scoring 14 goals and improved to 21 by the following year.

Torres was made captain of his club at only 19, and in 2007, after playing for his beloved Atletico Madrid for 7 seasons, Torres was clearly a big fish in a small pond. Many big clubs became interested for his services but it was Liverpool who got his man for a club record fee of 20 million pounds.

Torres started his Liverpool debut season with a bang, as he plundered 33 goals in all competitions. He was the first player since Robbie Fowler to score 20 league goals in a season. Still only into his third season with the Reds, Torres is already being named as Liverpool's 50 greatest players.

Torres has represented Spain at all levels and has won the European U16 and U19 Championships in 2001 and 2002 respectively, but his biggest prize was the European Championship medal in 2008, where he scored the winner against Germany in the final. Torres has scored 23 goals in 68 caps till date.

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When Cesc Fabregas (born 4th May 1987) plied his trade at Barcelona youth team during his early days, he thought he would stay with the club he has supported since boyhood. Although playing as defensive midfielder at the youth leagues, Fabregas would score more than 30 goals per season, but Barcelona did not value him too highly then. At 16, Arsenal came knocking and Fabregas signed for Arsene Wenger's team after some consideration.

Former Arsenal's midfielders Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva provided good mentoring for Fabregas when the young Spaniard just joined the London club in 2003. Not afraid of giving youngsters chances, Wenger handed Fabregas his debut in the Premier League. Fabregas became Arsenal's youngest player to take the field when he was involved in a League Cup, and also the youngest goalscorer shortly after that.

When Vieira left Arsenal in 2005, Fabregas made the number 4 jersey his own. He continued to improve and played most of the games each season. Till date, the season of 2007/08 represented his best performance in a season as he scored 13 goals and made 23 assists. Fabregas has flourished to an excellent playmaker who can direct his team's offense. Although he has won the FA Cup and Community Shield with Arsenal, the league title represents his greatest ambition with Arsenal.

Fabregas represented Spain in many levels, but it was at the Under 17 competitions where he really shone. He helped Spain to win the runnerup positions at both the FIFA U17 World Championship and the UEFA U17 European Championship in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Fabregas himself was awarded the Golden Ball at both events.

At the senior level, Fabregas helped Spain to become the European champion in 2008. At 22, he has already became a permanent fixture in a talented Spain midfield, also consisting Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Xabi Alsonso. With 42 caps under his belt, Fabregas will definitely join Spain's exclusive century caps club in the future.

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Santos signed Diego (born 28th February 1985) for their youth team as early as 1996, when he was just 12. He made his debut in 2002 at only 16 and won the domestic Brazilian title. Together with Robinho, they took the league by storm and were considered to be the biggest talents to emerge after Ronaldinho and Kaka.

However, while Spanish giant Real Madrid splashed huge cash on Robinho, Diego could only sign for Porto, a Portuguese giant but not really a big club in Europe.

Diego helped Porto win the Portuguese title in 2006, but could not establish himself as part of the first team. Later that season, he left for Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen quickly made him the center of their offense, and Diego did not disappoint. His fine playmaking skills drove Werder Bremen into the third position at the end of the season, and Diego won the Bundesliga Player of the Season award.

In his three years at Werder Bremen, Diego scored 38 goals in 84 games, and helped the club to win the German Cup as well as leading them to the UEFA Cup final. In 2009, Juventus splashed 22 million pounds for the 24-year-old talented playmaker. Diego finally gets to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

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Born in the United States but pledged his loyalty to his father's nationality, Giuseppe Rossi (born 1st February 1987) started to play in the youth academy of Parma when he was 13. Manchester United snapped him up in 2004 at an age of 17, but Rossi was not really given a chance to shine. He has scored a single goal in 5 games for the Red Devils, and in 2007, it spelt the end of his England adventure.

In his last year at Manchester United, he was loaned to his former club Parma, where he net 9 goals in 19 games, helping the club to escape relegation. When it seemed that the loan move will be made permanent at the end of the season, ambitious Spanish club Villarreal came in with a bid of 6.6 million pounds.

Manchester United accepted the bid, citing they did not want to hinder Rossi's future, but they included a clause which allows them to buy back the player in the future. This shows how highly Alex Ferguson values the Italian.

Rossi settled well in Spain and shone. Even though he was unable to help the team to achieve honours, he managed to play his part with 23 goals in 57 games for Villarreal so far. It will be a matter of time before the major clubs come bidding for his services.

Rossi is one of the few players that have represented Italy at almost every levels. He has made appearances for Italy Under 16, Under 17, Under 18 and Under 21. He finally made his debut for the senior team in October 2008, and has become a regular, scoring 3 goals in 9 caps till date. Still only 22, Rossi will be Italy's main striker in the future.

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Iker Casillas (born 20th May 1981), arguably the best Spanish goalkeeper in the last decade, started as a wonderkid goalkeeper in Real Madrid youth team as early as 1990, when he was just 10 years old. Extremely agile and having quick reflexes, Casillas was promoted to the Real Madrid C team in 1998. A year later, he was promoted to the B team and in 1999, he was called up to the senior squad and played in a Champions League final against Valencia. That year, Casillas was only 17, and has won the biggest prize in European football.

Like Raul, Casillas is viewed as Real Madrid icon, and is expected to stay with Real Madrid for all his career. He has played with the first generation of the Los Galacticos which included Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos.

Casillas has won almost everything with Real Madrid, including four La Liga titles, three Champions League trophies, a host of domestic cups and and an Intercontinental Cup. Till date, he has already played some 350 games for the Spanish giant.

At international level, Casillas was involved in every levels since 1996. He has played for Spain U15, U16, U17, U18, U20 and U21. In 2000, he made his debut for Spain and never looked back.

Casillas captained Spain to glory in the 2008 European Championship. Still only 28 years old and already with 96 caps, it will not for long before Casillas breaks Andoni Zubizarret's record of being the most-capped Spanish goalkeeper.

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Daniel De Rossi (born 24th July 1983) was handpicked by Roma from Ostiamare in 2000. A year later, he was promoted to the senior team and made his debut in the Italian Serie A. He was only 18 then.

From then onwards, De Rossi's role in the team grew as he continued to develop. Blessed with a wide range of passing skills and possess venomous long shots, De Rossi helped Italy to win the European Under 21 Championship in 2004.

In 2006, De Rossi won the Serie A Young Player of the Year after an impressive yet tiring season, where he was involved in 55 games and scored 6 goals. That summer, he also played in the World Cup and helped Italy to win the World Cup.

At club level, De Rossi has helped Roma to four runnerup spots in the last 6 seasons (2004, 06, 07, 08), but his greatest ambition is the Scudetto. Till date, De Rossi has already played almost 200 games for Roma, and he is viewed as the future captain after current Roma's icon Francesco Totti retires.

Still only 26, De Rossi is already an integrated figure in the national team, having collected 48 caps and 8 goals so far. He represents a bright spot in an aging Italy team that is currently undergoing transition.

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There are currently many promising young players that are considered as wonderkids due to their immerse potential. AC Milan's Alexandre Pato (aged 19), Barcelona's Bojan Krkic (aged 18), Inter Milan's Mario Balotelli (aged 18), Manchester United's Rafael da Silva (aged 19) and Arsenal's Theo Walcott (aged 20) are currently among the best young players in the world.

All five of them have broken into the first team at an age of 18 or less, and Bojan, Batotelli and da Silva have played significant roles in helping their teams Barcelona, Inter Milan and Manchester United to clinch their respective league titles. Under the protection and guidance of their managers, they will likely to continue to develop and achieve great things in the future.

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