Andrija Maksimovic, take a bow!
The Crvena Zvezda starlet created Champions League history as he took to the field against AC Milan at the San Siro
GettyMaksimovic is already turning heads in Europe’s premier club competition[/caption]
The talented teen has had an impressive start to life with the Serbian giants and now he’s earned himself a place in the record books.
A midfield sensation, Maksimovic has dethroned Manchester City icon Vincent Kompany.
He is now the youngest player in Champions League history to see each of his first five appearances in the competition come as starts.
He does so aged 17 years and 188 days, while previous holder Kompany achieved the same feat aged 17 years and 244 days.
This season, Maksimovic has started against Inter Milan, Monaco, Barcelona, and Stuttgart, losing the first three before winning 5-1 in the latter match.
He is, though, yet to play for an entire 90 minutes.
In total, the youngster has two goals and four assists this campaign in 15 appearances this season.
Most famously this season, ahead of the 5-2 loss to Barcelona he insisted he would prove he was more talented than Spain sensation Lamine Yamal.
He said: “We met up at the European Championship. A brilliant player, as well as [Pau] Cubarsi. We’re the same age. Tomorrow I’ll go out and show that I’m better than him [Yamal].
“Of course, I’m not nervous. This is what I’ve been waiting for. This is the Champions League. This is our stadium. The stands will be full and I’m glad I’ll be playing against the great Barcelona.”
Maksimovic’s links to Barcelona go deeper too, as he idolised Lionel Messi and was even given the nickname ‘Messi’ due to his dribbling talent and long hair as a child.
Kompany might not be too unhappy losing the record given his incredible career.
The Belgian hero, now manager of Bayern Munich, made his five-game starting run while on the books of boyhood club Anderlecht.
His spell came all he way back in 2003 as he played Bayern Munich and Celtic twice, and Lyon once in Group A of that year’s competition.
Belgian side Anderlecht managed to beat Lyon and Celtic, but also lost to the Scottish giants.
Meanwhile, against his current club Bayern Munich he managed a 1-1 draw in his opening game and a 1-0 loss.
Overall he made 51 appearances in the competition, scoring twice and assisting once.
He wasn’t able to win the Champions League but did manage six league title wins across two countries, while also winning the FA Cup twice and EFL Cup four times.
Kompany also made 89 appearances for Belgium, coming third at the 2018 World Cup.
And Makisimovic will be hoping to have a similar career after breaking his stunning record.