“Besides Catering & Zardes, then who else?”
1NEWS – We all agree that Lionel Messi is one of the greatest footballers of all time. The Argentine was absolutely sensational during his time at Barcelona and now he plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
At the age of 34, Messi’s career as a professional footballer is coming to an end and it is not known what he will do after he hangs up his boots.
But the option of being a talented young scout seems like a good thing. Back in 2015, in collaboration with Adidas, Messi once predicted 10 young people from around the world to become star players in the future.
So who are these players? and how are they now?
On that note, let’s take a look at 10 players that La Pulga predicts will be star players in the future;
10.Accursio Bentivegna
10 Photos of Anna Lewandowska, Wife of Robert Lewandowski Black Belt Holder Karate
2015: Palermo (on loan at Como)
2021: Juve Stabia
Bentivegana is a native of Palmero’s academy and was an Italy Under-20 international in 2015. However, his career has not gone so well and six years later, he is now playing in the Italian third division with Juve Stabia.
9.Jeremy Catering
2015: Chelsea
2021: Sassuolo
Maybe Messi’s expectations for Boga are not being met well, but the Ivorian has still had a very good career so far. During his early career, Boga made just one appearance for Chelsea before leaving for Sassuolo in 2018.
With I Neroverdi, Boga played 92 games and scored 18 goals.
8.Maxwell Cornet
2015: Lyon
2021: Burnley
Cornet is a key player for Lyon in the last 6 seasons. The Ivory Coast forward played 252 times for the club, scoring 51 goals.
Still just 24 years old, Cornet recently signed for Burnley in a €15 million deal. He is also a regular for Les léphants.
Maxwell Cornet showing his love for Burnley straight away… pic.twitter.com/5Ba3ghAb3J
— ODDSbible (@ODDSbible) August 29, 2021
7.Kenedy
2015: Chelsea
2021: Flamengo (on loan from Chelsea)
In the 2015/2016 season, the Brazilian was actually quite successful with Chelsea by appearing 20 times for the club in all competitions. But he failed to land a major role and spent the last six seasons on loan.
Kenedy featured for Watford, Newcastle, Getafe, Granada and now plays for Flamengo.
6.Rony Lopez
2015: Monaco
2021: Olympiacos (on loan from Sevilla)
Lopes’ career at Monaco went smoothly. In the 2017/2018 season, the Portuguese player scored 17 goals in 50 matches. He also made his country debut that season.
However, Lopes lost his place at Monaco and was sold to Sevilla in 2019. He only made 14 appearances for the Spanish club before leaving for Nice on loan and now the 25-year-old is spending the 202120/22 season on loan in Greece.
5. Alexey Miranchuk
2015: Lokomotiv Moscow
2021: Atalanta
In recent years, Miranchuk has continued to improve in his game.
The attacking midfielder played 228 games for Lokomotiv Moscow, scoring 43 goals, before moving to Atalanta in 2020. The 25-year-old had a promising debut season in Italy and he was part of the Russia squad at Euro 2020.
Took Alexey Miranchuk 10 mins to score his first #UCL goal for Atalanta – it's taken him 20 mins to net his first Serie A goal for them. They might want to think about playing him a bit more. ️ pic.twitter.com/x7JEU2V9My
— Liam Tyler (@tyler_lj) November 8, 2020
4.Timo Werner
2015: Stuttgart
2021: Chelsea
Werner was still a teenager and a regular at Stuttgart when Messi tipped him off to become a future star. Werner then moved to RB Leipzig in 2016, where he scored 95 goals in 159 games.
His consistent performances in the Bundesliga earned him a £47.5 million transfer to Chelsea in 2020.
The German has not reached the level expected of him at Chelsea – scoring just 12 goals in 52 games during his first season – but he did help the Blues to the Champions League title.
Solid start @premierleaguepic.twitter.com/q7SbO4EiGr
— Timo Werner (@TimoWerner) August 14, 2021
3.Khiry Shelton
2015: New York City
2021: Kansas City
Shelton was one of the oldest players Messi predicted in 2015 – he was 22 at the time and playing for the Pigeons.
The American tried to crack German football in 2019 but played just four times before returning to MLS with Sporting Kansas City. So far, Shelton has scored six goals in 43 games that have been played.
2.James Wilson
2015: Manchester United
2021: Port Vale
In 2014, Wilson caught the attention of England fans thanks to his impressive performances for the Red Devils, scoring twice on his Premier League debut against Hull, and at that time he was only 19 years old.
But apparently after that impressive performance, Wilson continued to experience a decline in performance and had several loan spells. After failing to impress at Brighton, Derby County and Sheffield United, Wilson finally made a permanent move to Aberdeen in 2019 and is now playing in League Two with Port Vale.
1.Gyasi Zardes
2015: LA Galaxy
2021: Columbus Crew
The US national team player has had a successful career in MLS competition over the last 10 years.
After scoring 40 goals in 154 games for the LA Galaxy, the striker moved to the Columbus Crew in 2018. He has even more success playing for The Crew, scoring 54 goals in 103 games.
Zardes has also scored 14 goals in 63 games for the Yanks.
Gyasi Zardes saved the day for the #USMNT with a game winning goal and 100% passing accuracy! The USA is in the finals of the #GoldCup21 ! Here are the Advanced Protection Player Stats brought to you by @valvoline#ThisIsOurspic.twitter.com/gIThoa0AtK
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) July 30, 2021
(muflih miftahul kamal/muf)
