'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='prefix__paint0_linear_4737_37157'%20x1='3.018'%20y1='23.6'%20x2='44.925'%20y2='24.977'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%231CB7FF'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='.502'%20stop-color='%232FF58B'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Lionel Messi names Chelsea, Liverpool and Brighton players in football's top prospects
Oct 15 2025 11:38 · By Phil Haigh
· View Original
Legendary forward Lionel Messi has named 10 stars of football’s future (Picture: Getty Images)
Lionel Messi has picked out 10 players he sees as the brightest young talents in football, with Chelsea , Liverpool and Brighton stars getting a nod.
The legendary forward named the prospects he reckons are the ‘future of football’ as part of an Adidas campaign.
Premier League youngsters are involved and will get a boost in confidence after being recognised by a player many see as the GOAT.
17-year-old Liverpool talent Rio Ngumoha is on Messi’s list, as is Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos .
Another Chelsea youngster also got a shout out from the Inter Miami superstar, with Kendry Paez involved, who is on loan at Strasbourg this season.
Finally in terms of Premier League representation, Brighton’s German midfielder Brajan Gruda is on the list of top prospects.
The other male players Messi picked out were Porto’s Rodrigo Mora, Ajax’s Belgian forward Mika Godts, Como’s Nico Paz and Renne teenager Kader Meite.
Rio Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest ever scorer this season (Picture: Getty Images)
In terms of female players, Messi tipped Lyon’s Lily Yohannes and Barcelona’s Clara Serrajordi as superstars of the future.
It is not the first time Messi has picked out stars of the future, and he hasn’t necessarily had great success with his tipping.
In 2015 he picked out 10 players and they did not turn out to be the best predictions.
The 10 he chose 10 years ago were: Accursio Bentivegna, Marcos Lopes, Kenedy, Maxwel Cornet, Jeremie Boga, James Wilson, Timo Werner, Gyasi Zardes, Khiry Shelton and Aleksey Miranchuk.
Andrey Santos has been tipped for success at Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
The 38-year-old announced this week that the Lionel Messi Cup will be played for the first time in Miami in December, which will be an eight-team tournament for Under-16s.
Chelsea and Manchester City are involved, as are Barcelona, Newell’s Old Boys, Inter Milan, River Plate, Atletico Madrid and Inter Miami.
He wrote on Instagram: ‘Thrilled to finally share this with you.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DPnvoJBjZVX/
‘This December, Miami will host a very special youth football tournament featuring some of the top clubs from around the world.