Atlanta’s George Bello joins list of youngest starters in MLS history

George Bello entered the record books on his MLS debut on Saturday night, becoming one of the youngest players in league history to start a match as well as the youngest to start an MLS game in Atlanta United‘s short existence. 

Ready to represent his city.

Congrats on your first-ever MLS start, @_georgebello! pic.twitter.com/RseWR6uLmG

— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) September 22, 2018

Handed ATLUTD’s left back role in their 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake, the 16-year-old Homegrown more than held his own, helping the Five Stripes defense notch their eighth clean sheet of the league campaign, motoring forward to join the attack and earning a standing ovation from the 70,000-plus crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 

16-year-old @_georgebello had a very solid debut for @ATLUTD:
-1 clearance
-1 blocked shot
-1 interception
-4/4 tackles
-6/7 duels won
-15/18 passes (83.3%)
-1 successful dribble

A great start to hopefully a great career 👏👏👏#USMNT pic.twitter.com/JmItbFnMS9

— Church of Pulisic (@ChurchOfPulisic) September 23, 2018

He even got some PDA from head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino:

Awww! Tata Martino sharing a moment with his 16yo player (who just played a heck of a game) George Bello

2-0 | #ATLvRSL | #ATLUTD | #RSL pic.twitter.com/g0X80CN7vX

— HotSpot Soccer (@HotSpotSoccer) September 23, 2018

Below is a rundown of the company Bello is in, historically speaking.

8 Youngest Starters in MLS History