The similarities and differences between Ansu Fati and Rodrygo Barcelona | Real Madrid Teenage superstars

Ansu Fati and Rodrygo Goes have been two of the revelations of this LaLiga Santander season so far.

Both players were born in the 21st century and therefore draw some similarities, but there are also things that set them apart.

Differences

For these two teenage forwards, you have to look off the pitch to find the differences between them.

Ansu Fati has come through Barcelona's famed La Masia academy and cost the Catalan club nothing in terms of a transfer fee. Rodrygo, however, arrived at Real Madrid earlier this year from Santos for a fee of 45 million euros.

Rodrygo made his senior debut for Los Blancos aged 18 while Ansu Fati beat him to it, making his Barcelona bow aged 16.

Back on the field, the Brazilian has forged his way into Zinedine Zidane's starting line-up and now forms part of the front three with Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard. Fati, on the other hand, was handed the chance to shine due to the absences of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and has since fallen out of the team due to their returns.

On the international stage, Rodrygo has already received his first senior call-up with Brazil while Fati, who has just pledged his allegiance to Spain, has only made the Under-21 squad so far.

Similarities

Nike can count themselves lucky to have tied down two of the most promising players in the world of football.

The pair are also boosting their social media presences, attracting millions of followers on platforms like Instagram due to their exploits with a football.

Those Instagram posts frequently contain members of their respective families, with both players' fathers playing important roles in their development.

In Fati's case, his father migrated to Spain from Guinea and managed to find a job to support his family.

Rodrygo's father, who is only 35, chose to abandon his own professional football career (he played in Brazil's Serie B) in favour of supporting his son's aspirations.

In terms of footballing attributes, both Rodrygo and Fati are tricky forwards who start out wide and come inside to score goals.

Both players have netted twice for their respective clubs this season and both have started a Champions League game already.

As for their footballing father figures, they're not bad either. Lionel Messi showed his adoration for Fati after he made his debut in Barcelona's 5-2 win over Real Betis in August. Rodrygo is supported from afar by compatriot Pele.