How Max Dowman’s Historic Feat Measures Up to Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappe

At 16 years and 73 days old, Max Dowman cut past two Everton defenders and darted over 80 yards down the pitch toward an empty net, scoring his first goal for Arsenal and securing a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.

“It was a great moment, especially with the way the goal built up,” manager Mikel Arteta said. “We had 10 or 15 seconds to really enjoy what was about to happen. It was magical, all the bench and players together jumping up with the crowd, it was a beautiful day.”

As if the dramatics of the 97th minute goal wasn’t enough, Dowman, who made his Arsenal first team debut last July, became the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer ever, overtaking the record set by Everton’s James Vaughan over 20 years ago.

Max Dowman. The youngest ever goalscorer in the Premier League. pic.twitter.com/UDBPUOWThk
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 14, 2026

Is Dowman a legend in the making?

Here, Sports Illustrated looks back at the early careers of some of the world’s greatest players and at what age they notched their first senior professional goals.

Lionel Messi

Messi scored his first official goal in May 2005 at 17 years and 10 months old in a Barcelona game against Albacete at the Camp Nou, becoming, at the time, the youngest goalscorer in La Liga.

The Argentine superstar came onto the pitch in the 88th minute, and just three minutes later, he had made history and secured a 2–0 win for the Catalans.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo was also 17 when he scored his first professional goal. Well, it was actually two goals.

The Portuguese star scored twice in Sporting Lisbon’s 3–0 win against Moreirense in Oct. 2002 at Sporting’s old stadium.

Karim Benzema

young Benzema — Benzema (right) began his professional career at Olympique Lyonnais. | (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Benzema scored his first professional goal in Dec. 2005 during his Champions League debut for Olympique Lyonnais, just days before the French striker’s 18th birthday. Lyon defeated Rosenborg 2–1.

Wayne Rooney

Like Ronaldo, Rooney's goalscoring debut actually involved two goals. The 16-year-old scored twice for Everton in the club’s 3–0 win over Wrexham in Oct. 2002. Rooney’s brace occurred in the span of six minutes.

Less than three weeks later, Rooney scored his first Premier League goal for Everton against Arsenal. At 16 years and 360 days old at the time, the English attacker was crowned the youngest goalscorer in league history.

Kylian Mbappé

mbappe — Mbappé made his debut for AS Monaco shortly before his 17th birthday. | (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)

Mbappé scored his first professional goal in Feb. 2016 at the age of 17 years and two months old while playing for AS Monaco. It was a stoppage time goal like Dowman’s and sealed a 3–1 victory against Troyes.

The French star became the youngest scorer in Monaco’s history.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Max Dowman’s Historic Feat Measures Up to Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappe.

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