Who will be the next big thing in world football? Who will replace Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo once they’ve retired? That day will get here sooner than you think, and for the answer look no further than Messi’s top 15 young prospects list, which the Argentine just named.
Making the cut was Chelsea and U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic. The Messi “youth on the rise” list was part of Topps’ Champions League cards series, which were in fact designed by the 32-year-old FC Barcelona galactico. The “Youth on the Rise” list is pretty elite company, and it includes France/Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, considered by many to indeed be that Messi/Ronaldo heir.
The full list of Messi’s top 15 is below, and it’s provided via Sport Bible
Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool
Houssem Aouar Lyon
Ousmane Dembele Barcelona
Frenkie de Jong Barcelona
Joao Felix Atletico Madrid
Phil Foden Manchester City
Kai Havertz Bayer Leverkusen
Joshua Kimmich Bayern Munich
Luka Jovic Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain
Eder Militao Real Madrid
Mason Mount Chelsea
Benjamin Pavard Bayern Munich
Christian Pulisic Chelsea
Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund
Also, in case you missed it, Pulisic posted this amazing photo on Twitter yesterday of himself as a youngster
Half man, half amazing. ?
@cpulisic_10 ? pic.twitter.com/dqCec7UA82
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) March 31, 2020
Note the Spiderman shirt. Hope everyone is staying home, staying safe and doing all you can to stay occupied and entertained during lockdown. Pulisic has certainly done his part to keep himself occupied, and once in awhile to keep us entertained, at home.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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