Messi Names 10 Future Stars: Two England Wonderkids

Lionel Messi has handpicked ten young players he believes can reach football's summit, unveiling the names in a new Adidas video days after his Argentina farewell — and two England youngsters made the cut.

Messi's handwritten list for Adidas

Lionel Messi has named the ten young footballers he expects to define the sport's next era, delivering his picks in a short video published by Adidas in which he is shown jotting the names down by hand. The list was reported by GiveMeSport and SportBible on 11 October 2026, and both outlets identify it as an Adidas-backed project rather than a press interview. No direct quotes from Messi accompanied the release, and the ten names arrive with no public ranking attached to them.

The timing is no accident. Messi, 39, played his final match for Argentina only days earlier, a 3-0 friendly win over Benin at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on 6 October. He bowed out with his 208th cap, a penalty for his 126th international goal, and two assists — a signature farewell for the game's greatest scorer. SportBible described the new list as the first significant chapter of Messi's post-international life, and one outlet framed it as his way of passing the torch to the generation that will now carry the sport forward.

Messi had announced his international retirement in August 2026, weeks after Argentina's 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain in the July 2026 World Cup final. With the national-team chapter closed, his name now carries its full weight as a talent-spotter: when the greatest player of all time puts your name on a list, the football world takes notice.

Two England wonderkids make the cut

England is represented by two teenagers. Arsenal's Max Dowman, 16, and Chelsea women's Chloe Sarwie, 17, are the two English names on Messi's list, a notable endorsement for English football's production line. Dowman is already a Premier League record-holder as the competition's youngest-ever goalscorer and has collected the Home Grown Debutant of the Season award, according to both GiveMeSport and SportBible. His breakthrough at Arsenal has been one of the standout stories of the season.

Sarwie's inclusion is equally striking. The 17-year-old made her Chelsea first-team debut in October 2025 in a 1-1 draw with FC Twente and has since been selected for England's U-20 World Cup squad. That a women's player is on the list at all underlines how broadly Messi's eye roams — this is not a list of familiar men's academy stars, but a genuine attempt to spotlight talent wherever it is emerging.

For both youngsters, the endorsement is a career marker that will follow them for years. Dowman already carries the weight of expectation as English football's next great hope, while Sarwie's trajectory from debut to international youth tournament to a Messi-backed list has been remarkably swift.

The Argentine on the list: Tomás Aranda

Only one Argentine made Messi's ten, and it is Tomás Aranda, the 19-year-old Boca Juniors attacker. The choice carries obvious symbolism: as Messi leaves the national team, his pick for the country's brightest young talent is a teenager learning his trade at the club where Diego Maradona's legend looms largest.

Aranda earned his first senior Argentina cap in a 2-0 win over Honduras in June, and his development at Boca has been rapid enough to catch the eye of the country's greatest-ever player. Both GiveMeSport and SportBible confirm his place on the list, and the Argentine outlet soyfutbol also carried his name in its coverage of the announcement.

The pick is a reminder that Messi's attention remains fixed on Argentina's future even as he steps away from it. Nico Paz, another Argentine youngster who scored in Messi's farewell win over Benin, had already featured in the previous edition of the list — a lineage of torch-passing that Aranda now joins.

From Tijuana to Frankfurt: the global ten

The rest of the list spans three continents. Zavier Gozo, 19, represents the United States: the Crystal Palace player made his debut against Manchester City and has already been capped by the USA. Gilberto Mora, the 17-year-old Tijuana midfielder, is Mexico's pick; he has four World Cup appearances to his name and has been linked with a move to European football, with Liverpool among the clubs mentioned in reports.

Can Uzun, 20, is Turkey's striker at Eintracht Frankfurt and arrives with the most senior pedigree of anyone on the list: two World Cup appearances, a goal in Turkey's 3-2 win over the USA, 19 goals in 64 Bundesliga games across three seasons, and four goals plus three assists in six games this season. Kees Smit, 20, is the Dutch midfielder who has been a key player for AZ Alkmaar for three seasons, made his Netherlands debut this year, and stayed in Alkmaar despite reported interest from Real Madrid and the Premier League — earning comparisons with Kevin De Bruyne.

The list is completed by three teenagers with rich potential: Jesús Rodríguez, the 20-year-old Como winger playing under Cesc Fabregas with ten Spain U21 caps; Lotta Wrede, the 18-year-old versatile German attacker at Hamburger SV; and Giovanna Waksman, the 17-year-old Brazilian midfielder at Lyon. With five of the ten aged 18 or younger, Messi's selections lean heavily on youth over reputation.

The third edition of a Messi tradition

This is the third time Messi has produced such a list. The first edition came in 2024, when his picks included Lamine Yamal, Antonio Nusa and Kenan Yildiz — names that have since become central to European football. The second edition, published in October 2025, featured Nico Paz, Kendry Páez and Rio Ngumoha among its ten.

The track record gives the new list weight. Yamal, in particular, has developed into one of the world's best players since Messi's endorsement, and the previous editions have shown that the Argentine's eye for young talent is not a gimmick. That history is part of what makes the latest ten worth watching: this list has form.

It is also worth noting what the list is not. It is not an official award, not a ranking, and not a prediction of who will win the Ballon d'Or. It is a personal selection — ten names Messi himself believes have the quality to reach superstardom — and its value lies in who is doing the selecting.

What the list means after the farewell

The list landed less than a week after Messi's Argentina farewell, and that context shapes how it has been received. SportBible framed the announcement as Messi beginning to soften the blow of his international departure by pointing supporters toward the future. After a career in which he carried a nation's expectations for two decades — 208 caps, 126 goals, a 2022 World Cup, Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024 — his final act for his country was to share the spotlight.

There is a symmetry to it. Messi's own farewell night at the Monumental featured assists for both other goals, including one for 21-year-old Nico Paz — a literal passing of the torch to a player he had endorsed a year earlier. Now, with the national team behind him, he has formalised that instinct into a list.

For the ten players, the practical effects will be immediate: bigger crowds at their matches, more cameras at their press conferences, and a permanent line in every profile written about them. For football, the list is a window into how the game's greatest player sees its future — and England, with two teenagers on the list, should be paying particular attention.

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