Christos Mouzakitis: Greece's newest 'golden generation' starlet who became a midfield magician after nearly losing his eye - and is now wanted by Arsenal & Man Utd

Born in the capital of Athens on Christmas Day 2006 - Christos Day, anyone? - Mouzakitis began his journey as a footballer with local side Heraklion Attica in the suburbs of the city. By the time he was 10, he had been snapped up by Olympiacos from their fierce crosstown rivals of AEK.

Mouzakitis was actually first spotted as a goalkeeper, but a traumatic injury changed the course of his future career forever. "I had an eye injury when I was a goalkeeper, I could have lost my eye. That happened when I was little - seven years old. I had made a play and they had hit me in the eye with the ball," he told Gazzetta.

After coming out of goal, Mouzakitis tried his hand at left-back and then on the wing, before settling on central midfield when making the step up to 11-v-11 football. Thank goodness the youth coaches of his later years saw sense.

Per the tradition of most football clubs, Mouzakitis was assigned to ball-boy duties for the first team as an adolescent, even during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. He has cited a Champions League clash with eventual finalists Manchester City as his favourite, and given a similarly silky left-footed player in Phil Foden scored the only goal that night for a total football team, it's easy to understand why.

Olympiacos pumped a lot of money into improving their infrastructure and youth development at the perfect time for a teenage Mouzakitis to take advantage of. At only 16, he was featuring for both their U17 and U19 sides, proving a standout in both age groups and ending the 2022-23 season as the top scorer in the latter, registering eight goals and two assists in 22 matches. From midfield, remember.

Mouzakitis had the distinction of playing his hand in title wins for those two different age groups simultaneously. The following year, he played a starring role in Olympiacos' UEFA Youth League triumph - scoring a penalty in their 3-0 final win over AC Milan to boot - which made them the first Greek club to ever win the competition.

By that point, it was impossible for Mouzakitis to be ignored for a first-team berth. Manager Jose Luis Mendilibar, most famous for winning the 2023 Europa League with Sevilla, called the young midfielder into the senior setup and slowly started the integration process with a smattering of squad appearances to bed him in to new surroundings.

Though Mendilibar was initially patient with Mouzakitis' integration, he actually threw him into the deep end with a start against Atromitos for his Super League debut on September 29, 2024, which made him the third-youngest player in the competition's history (top spot belongs to team-mate Kostoulas). Olympiacos were 2-0 victors, and it was their newest starlet who assisted their clincher in the second half. As a reward, Mouzakitis retained his place in the starting lineup for their subsequent domestic and Europa League games, thereafter remaining a regular in the starting XI until the winter break.

In 2025, Mouzakitis has flittered between the starting XI and the bench, though has only failed to feature in five games across three competitions since his debut. One way or another, he is already an important player at Mendilibar's disposal. "Mouzakitis has earned his playing time - he wins his own rewards," he has noted.

After Mouzakitis scored his first senior goal in a late 1-0 win away at APO Levadiakos, the Spanish coach said: "He works hard, just like all the players do. Anyone in the squad has to put in the effort. But beyond effort, he has got the talent and quality that help him even more. We are happy every time he is in the starting lineup and contributes... Now, we celebrate Mouzakitis' goal."

And they were soon celebrating another Mouzakitis goal before too long. Up next were noisy neighbours Panathinaikos in the second leg of their Greek Cup quarter-final, with the tie finely poised at 1-1. Elimination was staring Olympiacos dead in the face when they conceded a 94th-minute penalty, only for Yuriy Lodygin to fluff his lines from 12 yards. Up the other end went the hosts, who scrambled in a long throw before the final whistle. The initial delivery was cleared, but there stood an unmarked Mouzakitis on the edge of the box, and without a second thought, he looped a volley up and in to send the Karaiskakis Stadium into raptures. Right there, a boy became a man, a player became a hero.

"Inspiration is a great feature for a footballer, but when you have skill, it turns inspiration into something meaningful," Mendilibar gushed at full-time. "If you only have inspiration without the ability, you can't achieve what Mouzakitis does - therefore, he's capable. He is a talented player, earning his minutes and proving his quality, which benefits the entire team."

Even though starts have been a tad harder to come by down the final stretch of the season, Mouzakitis is still involved all the same, often coming on from the bench even when not featuring from minute one.

Back in November, Mouzakitis earned his first senior Greece cap and became the eighth-youngest player to debut for the national team. With so many other talented youngsters coming through at the same time, there's now great hope the Ethniki can become a force in Europe and beyond again.

It's tough for a teenage midfielder to make waves without the added bow of scoring at senior level. Yet, it's Mouzakitis' feel for the game and excellent range of passing that has elevated him to a higher platform. You need core players to bring a level of consistency and reliability if you're to be successful and despite his age, Mouzakitis has done just that, as Mendilibar has so frequently referenced.

Whether he's threading the needle or pacing the midfield metronome, Mouzakitis has the requisite technical ability to match his composure and concentration. As his manager attested, the hunger and grit is the base to begin with, and everything that has followed has been a scrumptious bonus.

Mouzakitis is able to evade pressure so effortlessly with his quick feet and nimble frame, which has opened the floodgates to comparisons with some of the game's most gifted midfielders (more on those later).

If Mouzakitis can find a way to bring his scoring exploits with Olympiacos' youth teams into the professional game, then it will be difficult for the Greek giants to keep him for much longer. Maybe it's in their interests that he refrains from bringing that weapon back to his arsenal for the time being.

Even though he's 5'10", it's a small 5'10". Mouzakitis' slight frame could become more of a problem the further he gets into senior football, but he has plenty of growing and filling out still to do. If he fulfils his potential, then it might not matter anyways given how the best midfielders succeed regardless of their shape and size.

On a similar note, how Mouzakitis deals with newer game-plans to nullify him will determine how close he gets to the ceiling of his talent. Will he be able to freely wriggle out of double-teams? Can he beat the press when the challenges are stronger, faster and harder? How will he cope with being man-marked to shut down a game?

"My role model is Luka Modric. I liked him since I was little. A smart player who is very important for the core of his team," Mouzakitis proclaimed in a 2023 interview. There are telltale signs that he's modelled his game on the great Croatian, as well. They have that same low centre of gravity, that eye for a pass through the lines or over the top, know when to play short and long.

Now, Modric literally ended the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly over the Ballon d'Or and will go down as one of the all-time great footballers, so that's a tough act for anyone to follow. That shouldn't stop Mouzakitis aiming for the stars, however. Modric's own rise from a relatively small footballing nation and exclusively playing in only Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina until he was 22 ought to serve as inspiration for any youngster of similar background trying to make waves in the game.

Closer to home, Greek media have likened Mouzakitis to Andres Iniesta. Again, no pressure kid, but if you reach that bar then you would be in the top 0.00000000000000000000001% of players to have ever kicked a ball, give or take a few decimal places. Not saying it's impossible, mind.

Olympiacos are closing in on a record 48th Super League title, while Greece have been promoted into the top division of the Nations League and are in a favourable group for World Cup qualifying. By the summer of 2026, Mouzakitis is likely to be more than merely a hidden gem to most of the world.

The number of clubs linked with him is growing by the day, but Olympiacos sporting director Darko Kovacevic is hoping he will remain in Piraeus for a little while longer. "There is growing interest in him, but he is an Olympiacos player. He will stay at Olympiacos for sure this season, and I hope for longer," he said last month.

In the meantime, Mouzakitis' focus should be on making himself an undroppable member of the starting lineups for club and country. He's in the perfect place to continue his development, combining the pressures of a massive club that weighs heavy on his shoulders with a gradual increase in difficulty. Take in the joy of the title parade that will inevitably come, see if you emerge as the cup-final hero. The rest will follow.