Lionel Messi has set himself the responsibility of identifying football’s young, up-and-coming talent. That was the Argentine when he was a teenager, overcoming his anxieties to replace Deco for Barcelona in October 2004. The career he has subsequently built out is one that will live on in football legend; however, who does he suppose will be next in line?
His ten-player prediction corresponds with the debut of his all-new boots, the F50 ‘Vis10n’, and the next wave of generational players who will be fortunate enough to wear them.
Along with one of the greatest players of all time, they will be in the forefront of upcoming F50 Messi drops throughout the current season, but who are the ten players chosen by the 2022 World Cup winner? In 2024, names like Lamine Yamal and Kenan Yildiz have emerged, but the emphasis is on the present. Let’s take a closer look at these new names.
Clara Serrajordi – Barcelona Women
Barcelona Women have refocused their club model by putting more trust and importance in their youth, which is where Clara Serrajordi comes into play. Many consider the Llinars del Valles native to be a teenage sensation, having had a dreamy start in life alongside some of her childhood influences – and she is only expected to improve.
“It seems like she’s been playing at the top level her whole life, with the way she understands timing, space, and the game,” observed the seasoned Alexia Putellas, when asked how Serrajordi has adjusted to senior life in Catalonia. The engine room patroller will try to replace her colleague as the beating heart of Pere Romeu’s side in the coming years, and she already appears to have her Putellas’ approval, despite the fact that she is still in her early career.
Mika Godts of Ajax
Mika Godts has been flying the Ajax flag high recently, thanks in part to his tireless charge into the opponent box. In the Netherlands, the 20-year-old Belgian primarily operates on the left side of a front free, but his right-footedness allows him to cut inside and devastating, something Messi is used to doing, albeit on the opposite flank.
Godts’ combination of technical excellence and ability to work in tight areas has earned him comparisons to compatriot Eden Hazard; he has a wide range of answers in one-on-one situations, which outweighs his relative lack of goal involvement. Because of his high degree of athleticism, he is an outstanding ball carrier, and few defenders in the Eredivisie enjoy competition when he has the ball at his feet, as evidenced by a look at his highlights.
Nico Paz, Como 1907.
Nico Paz, an attacking midfielder who fits well with today’s football paradigm, is an important cog in Cesc Fabregas’ Como 1907 team. A great prospect in Argentina football, the five-cap international joined Real Madrid Castilla in the summer of 2024 in search of more playing time. Los Blancos’ coaches will undoubtedly regret their decision, as Como’s wonderkid makes drifting between the lines and picking out passes look effortless.
Messi, to name just one, has the uncommon ability to make football look effortless. Is it too early to make the same remark about Paz? The parallels are unavoidable: both are Argentine and agile, frequently requiring more than one opponent to halt them from unleashing absolute wizardry. Paz’s career may have only just began, but the future looks promising.
Brajan Gruda of Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion have created a recruitment team that looks for outstanding young players who are just a hair away from bursting, and in 2024, the south coast club committed a significant amount of money in expanding their ranks. Brajan Gruda of Mainz 05 walked through the doors after a breakout season in Germany’s top flight.
Gruda, who isn’t afraid to make mistakes by pressing and probing in the final third, is a smooth dribbler with the ball at his feet. Not only does he like to stretch opposition defences by taking full advantage of a pitch’s width, but his penetrative passes have also proven useful for Brighton; at the time of writing, he has seven assists in 33 matches, but that figure would skyrocket if he had a consistent source of goals ahead of him.
Andrey Santos, Chelsea
Messi also singled out Chelsea’s Andrey Santos. The Brazilian’s defensive consistency, despite his small stature, makes him a nightmare to play against – and his tackling statistics during his one-season loan stay at Strasbourg demonstrated why the Blues were eager to sign the 2004-born star two years ago.
Santos, who joined Chelsea from Vasco de Gama in January 2023, has emerged as one of Europe’s most promising engine room prospects. However, he may fall victim to his employers’ accumulation of midfielders over time. If he is sold, any prospective buyer will be purchasing an all-action adolescent who is just waiting to erupt. He could be one to watch in the coming years: don’t just take our word for it; Messi’s admission speaks for itself.
Lily Yohannes, OL Lyonnes.
Lily Yohannes’ meteoric climb to prominence is no fluke; the 18-year-old relocated from Springfield, Virginia, to Europe when her father got a job in Amsterdam. It didn’t take long for the schemer to get Ajax’s notice, and her brilliance in the Netherlands earned her a move to European powerhouse OL Lyonnes in the summer of 2025.
She calls herself a “composed, creative midfielder,” but she is far more than that. Marking her international debut with a goal was partly expected given her natural skill; nonetheless, her ability to pick out inch-perfect passes to teammates with relative ease demonstrates how strong she may become on one of the world’s greatest teams.
Rodrigo Mora, FC Porto
FC Porto has a history of producing great adolescents, and Rodrigo Mora is the most recent example. The Portugal U21 international appears to be strutting his stuff for AC Milan at their peak, but he is instead leading the Portuguese giants as an elegant attacking midfielder capable of leaving defenders in the dust.
But don’t be deceived by his stature, which stands at 1.68m (5’5in). A closer look at the all-damage virtuoso reveals he is a deadly winger. Capable of holding his own in duels, there is ample evidence to imply that he can endure tougher and much larger opponents. His release clause is just shy of £60 million, but who knows? If he lives up to expectations, it may be money well spent.
Rio Ngumoha, Liverpool.
Liverpool has been dubbed as the Premier League’s top spenders, think Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak, but they may already have a superstar in their ranks: the one and only Rio Ngumoha. The sparkling youngster’s late match-winning goal against Newcastle United in the English Premier League perfectly exemplified what the 17-year-old is all about: stepping up when his team needs it the most.
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