With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo now both into their 30's, the world of football is searching for the next stars to dominate the game.

Both Messi and Ronaldo will go down as two of the greatest to have ever kicked a ball, but they cannot go on forever.

While they're both still scoring goals for fun with Barcelona and Juventus, their thrones will soon have to be taken by the upcoming generation.

And 2018/19 has seen a number of players under the age of 21 display world-class ability on a consistent basis.

Kylian Mbappe's - fresh from his World Cup win - has 22 goals in 20 Ligue 1 games, while 18-year-old Jadon Sancho has lit up the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.

But how do those two rank in the top 10 highest-rated players under the age of 21 in Europe's top five leagues this season? Well, they're unsurprisingly leading the way, with Ousmane Dembele in third.

They have been the standout starlets and we have provided the rest of the top 10 below.

THE TOP 10 U21 PLAYERS BASED ON STATS

Some names that perhaps aren't too well known there, but they may soon become household.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is the second Englishman on the list but the only player to feature from the Premier League, with the Bundesliga the highest represented with three young starlets.

Eintracht Frankfurt's Luka Jovic has been a revelation, scoring 15 goals in 21 league games - the Serbian averages a goal or an assist every 70.4 minutes in the Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz has been on the scene for a while, so it's hard to believe he's still just 19, scoring nine league goals already from midfield this season.

Serie A hotshot Federico Chiesa makes the cut after a breakthrough campaign in Florence, while Nice's exciting and unpredictable winger Allan Saint-Maximin makes it three players from France - the highest represented nation.

Leganes' Youssef En-Nesyri and Genoa's Christian Kouame are the most surprising inclusions, with the likes of Matteo Guendouzi, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Vinicius Junior all missing out.