Lionel Messi names FOUR English players in his list of 15 young stars to watch with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount joining the likes of Kylian Mbappe
- Four English players were named on Lionel Messi’s list of the best youngsters
- The Barcelona forward put together a list of the world’s best 15 wonderkids
- Messi included Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jadon Sancho in his selections
- There were also places for Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Man City’s Phil Foden
- Christian Pulisic was the only other Premier League player on Messi’s list
Lionel Messi has named four English stars in his list of football’s best 15 wonderkids.
The Barcelona forward, who rose through the club’s famous La Masia academy, put together some players who he believes to be the most talented prospects in the world.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has shared the stage with some of the best footballers of this generation, so he is well-placed to make such an assessment.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has revealed who he thinks are the best 15 youngsters in the world
And the 32-year-old clearly feels that England have a bright future as he mentioned four players while speaking to O Globo Sports.
Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, perhaps unsurprisingly, was one of England’s young stars to make the cut.
The 21-year-old’s meteoric rise to prominence has seen him earn huge plaudits over the last two seasons with Jurgen Klopp previously saying he was the best right-back in the world.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was one of four English players to make it on Messi’s list
Jadon Sancho, who is having an unbelievable season in Germany, was another player named
Alexander-Arnold has established himself as the creative force in Liverpool’s team and Messi reserved particular praise for his ability going forward.
Jadon Sancho was another no-brainer for Messi. The Borussia Dortmund man is widely considered one of the best young attacking players in the world and is enjoying another fruitful season in Germany.
The England international has scored 17 goals and laid on a further 19 assists for Dortmund in all competitions and will be a hot commodity this summer with several of Europe’s powerhouses chasing his signature.
Messi is known as one of the best ever with the ball at his feet but said that he has been impressed by Sancho’s dribbling skills – that’s some praise.
The other two English players to make it on Messi’s list were Phil Foden and Mason Mount.
Mount only broke into Chelsea’s first-team this season following his loan spell at Derby while Foden has been reduced to limited opportunities at Manchester City this term.
There were also places for Manchester City’s Phil Foden (L) and Chelsea’s Mason Mount (R)
Messi nonetheless still feels the pair have big futures ahead of them.
Mount’s Chelsea team-mate Christian Pulisic was the only other Premier League player to grab a spot on Messi’s list.
There were also spaces for Messi’s Barcelona team-mates Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong while Luka Jovic was also on there despite his torrid first season with Real Madrid.
Kylian Mbappe, Benjamin Pavard, Joao Felix, Joshua Kimmich, Houssem Aouar, Eder Militao and Kai Havertz completed Messi’s selections.
