James is a Senior Editor for GIVEMESPORT with over eight years of experience in the industry.

After graduating from the University of Southampton in 2016 with a degree in history, he joined the company as an Academy member in July 2017 and, after a short time working as a freelancer, was given a full-time role in February 2018. 

He primarily covers the biggest stories in the football world but is also comfortable reporting on a variety of other sports including darts, golf, Formula 1, tennis, boxing and athletics.

He has covered some massive events during his time at GIVEMESPORT, including numerous Champions League and World Cup finals, as well as the Olympics in 2020 and 2024.
 

Lionel Messi is known as one of the best footballers in the history of the sport and, in 2016, he picked ten young players he hoped could follow in his footsteps.

In 2015, the PSG star collaborated with Adidas to pick ten young players for his '#backedbyMessi' campaign. The Argentine returned a year later to pick ten more youngsters he believed could grow into future superstars.

His 2015 picks included Timo Werner and Maxwel Cornet, and both players have made their way into the English top-flight since. But how did the picks he made 12 months later fare? Let's take a look at the youngsters that were chosen by the Barcelona legend.

Patrick Roberts

In 2016, Patrick Roberts was on loan at Celtic from his parent club Manchester City. Roberts ended his first season at the club with seven goals in 12 appearances, a Scottish Player of the Month award and a Scottish Premiership title. He remained at Celtic until the 2018/19 season, managing 18 goals and 26 assists in 78 appearances across all competitions.

The winger then moved to Girona in 2018 but failed to find the net in 19 appearances for the club, and was eventually moved on to Norwich City the following season. After short, unsuccessful spells with Norwich, Middlesbrough, Derby County and Troyes, the youngster was released by City in 2022 and joined Sunderland on a free transfer. He now plays for Birmingham City.

Jean-Kevin Augustin

When Augustin was picked by Messi in 2016, the teenager was breaking through at Paris Saint-Germain. After making a few appearances in the first team, mainly as a backup striker to Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Augustin was eventually sold to RB Leipzig ahead of the 2017/18 season. The youngster stayed at the German club for two seasons, bagging 20 goals and eight assists in 67 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

In 2019, the striker moved to Monaco on loan, but the contract was cut short in January after he struggled for minutes. The French striker joined Leeds on another loan immediately after being recalled by Monaco, but this also went poorly, with the youngster ending his spell at the club having played only 48 minutes of football.

Augustin signed for Nantes on a two-year deal after being released by Monaco. However, he only made a handful of appearances for the club before he was dropped to the French side's B-team. Now 29, he is now playing for Swiss second tier side Yverdon-Sport FC following a short spell with Motor Lublin.

Gabriel Boschilia

In the 2016/17 campaign, shortly after being tipped for stardom by Messi, Gabriel Boschilia had an impressive season for Monaco. The Brazilian scored eight times in 15 appearances, highlighting his natural talent. The midfielder was then loaned to Standard Liege but would only make 12 appearances for the club in total. He then moved on to Nantes for a season-long loan, where he made 32 appearances, bagging five goals and four assists.

In January 2020, Monaco sold Boschilia permanently to Brazilian side Internacional for an undisclosed fee. The midfielder made 60 appearances for the club, scoring five times and recording one assist, before making the move to Coritiba in 2022. He now plays for Operario Ferroviário Esporte Clube after a stint with Gyori ETO FC.

Alex Muyl

When Messi selected Muyl, he was one of the most promising young players in MLS, starting for the New York Red Bulls. Muyl stayed with the New York-based team for the next four years, eventually leaving in 2020. During his time with the club, the winger racked up 140 senior appearances across all competitions.

He scored a total of 13 goals and tallied 15 assists before eventually being traded to Nashville SC. The winger has remained at Nashville ever since, appearing 243 times, scoring 16 goals and registering 15 assists in the process.

Chanathip Songkrasin

Chanathip earned himself the nickname, the 'Thai Messi', back in 2016 whilst playing in his homeland with Muangthong United. A year later, the attacking midfielder was loaned to the Japanese side Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. After impressing at Hokkaido, Chanathip was signed on a permanent deal in the summer of 2018. He made a total of 123 appearances for the Japanese club, netting 15 times and creating 22 assists.

In January 2022, Chanathip joined Kawasaki Frontale for a fee of around $3.8 million. The move broke the record for the highest domestic transfer in the J.League. He wasn't there for long, though, as he moved back to Thailand in 2023 when he signed for BG Pathum United. In total, Chanathip has made 80 senior appearances for his country, scoring 15 times.

Nadezhda Karpova

The only female player on the list, Karpova was plying her trade in Russia at the time of her selection. Karpova scored 11 goals in 33 appearances for the Russian side Chertanovo before signing for Valencia in 2017. Across her two seasons for the Spanish team, Karpova only made 24 appearances in total, with a disappointing tally of just three goals.

In 2019, she moved to Sevilla, bagging herself a slightly better eight goals in 32 appearances across two seasons. A year later, she was once again transferred between Spanish clubs, this time finding herself at Espanyol. Karpova hit the headlines in 2022 when she spoke out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Davide Calabria

Calabria has probably the least exciting but most promising story so far on this list. In 2016, he was playing for AC Milan in Serie A. He managed to establish himself as a key player for his boyhood club, and was appointed as their captain in 2022.

He was stripped of the captaincy in January 2025 after an altercation with Sérgio Conceição and, a month later, he completed a loan move to Bologna. The following summer, his 18-year spell at the club came to an end when he joined Greek side Panathinaikos.

In total, he played 272 times for his boyhood club, hitting the back of the net on 10 occasions. He has also made seven appearances for Italy.

Kekutah Manneh

By the time of his selection by Messi, Manneh was already an established player at Vancouver Whitecaps. The winger made his debut for the club back in 2013 as an 18-year-old. Despite managing an impressive 24 goals and 11 assists in 118 appearances for the club, the winger was traded to Columbus Crew SC in 2017.

Manneh decided to leave Columbus Crew after just six months, and he has struggled to settle at a club ever since. His most successful spell in the past nine years was with FC Cincinnati, where he managed 32 appearances, scoring five goals and managing three assists. Now 31, he is currently without a club after leaving Canadian outfit Pacific FC in 2023.

Nathan

In 2016, Chelsea-owned midfielder Nathan had made no first-team appearances for the London club but was enjoying a successful loan spell at Vitesse Arnhem. The midfielder managed seven goals and three assists in 51 appearances for the Dutch side, but over the next four years, he would go on loan to four different sides before settling at Atletico Mineiro.

In 2020, Nathan joined Miniero on a permanent basis, signing a four-year contract. The midfielder made over 100 appearances for the club, but in January 2022 a loan deal was arranged for him to join Fluminense. He has been without a club since leaving Clube do Remo in 2025.

Kasper Dolberg

Kasper Dolberg is arguably the most successful player of Messi's 10-man selection. The now-29-year-old was having a breakout season with Dutch side Ajax and finished the campaign with an impressive 16 goals in 29 league appearances. Dolberg remained at Ajax until 2019, finishing his spell in the Netherlands with 45 goals and 16 assists in 119 games.

In 2019, the Danish forward was sold to Ligue 1 side Nice for a fee of €20.5 million. Dolberg was named the club's Player of the Season after his initial campaign and went on to play 85 times for the French side, scoring 24 times. He rejoined Ajax in 2025 after a two-year spell at Anderlecht.

Dolberg has also been capped 56 times by his country, scoring 12 goals.