Every now and then, we hear and read the stories of young, promising teenagers labelled as ‘the new Messi/Ronaldo’ after making their senior debut at the age of 17 or even 16.But what about early, early teens turning (almost) pro? Never happened until last night, but the history was written.A 13-year-old boy from Northern Ireland made history on Tuesday night by becoming the youngest ever senior footballer in the United Kingdom. Christopher Atherton was 13 years and 329 days old when Northern Irish semi-pro outfit Glenavon player-manager Gary Hamilton handed him his debut at Mourneview Park.Tonight, Glenavon Academy player Christopher Atherton made his first team debut against Dollingstown in the League Cup. At 1⃣3⃣ yrs and 3⃣2⃣9⃣ days old, he became the youngest player in the UK to play in a first-class match.Congratulations Christo!!👏🏼💙 pic.twitter.com/hypGdC5R7p— Glenavon FC (@Glenavon_FC) September 13, 2022 Moreover, Atherton got an assist with what was his first touch after coming on in the League Cup clash, which ended in a 6-0 win of his side. Atherton has spent time on trial at Scottish side Dundee United, according to the Belfast Telegraph, and appears to be highly rated.In the English Premier League, the youngest ever player is Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott, who played for Fulham aged 16 years and 30 days.Liberia’s 11-year-old Eric Godpower Marshall is the World’s youngest Professional Footballer.He played 80 minutes in his third league game for Club Gar’ou in the Liberian 4th Division. pic.twitter.com/a36r553cPx— Africa Facts Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) April 18, 2021 In terms of the world record, 11-year-old Eric Godpower Marshall hit the headlines last year when he became the youngest ever footballer – turning out for Gar’ou against Haifa FC in Liberia.Before him, the player who held the record for being the youngest to feature in a professional game was Bolivian Mauricio Baldivieso, who came on for Club Aurora against La Paz in 2009 when he was just 12. He retired 13 years later, at the age of 25.##NAJAVA_MECA_6643458##
