From time to time, the names of promising players emerge who have been compared to Argentine star Lionel Messi, because of their technical skills, their strong start with their teams, or even their physical characteristics.
But everyone soon discovers that “the flea” is unparalleled, and that the world’s football stadiums are unable – until now – to discover a match for him, who achieved miraculous numbers during his professional career that began 20 years ago, and crowned it with winning all possible championships, and in Foremost among them are the World Cup and the European Champions League.
Comparisons with Messi began early, and the list includes hundreds of players, but many of them ended their entire careers and retired without leaving any mark, while Leo himself still continues to spread his magic on the field.
The last player to be compared to Messi thanks to his legendary start was Barcelona talent Lamine Gamal, and world football experts and analysts are monitoring the career of the 17-year-old player and whether he continues to rise or will he fade away after a while, as happened to hundreds of players who were compared to the Argentine legend.
These are the 10 most prominent players compared to Messi, and some considered them their successors on the field:
Bojan Kricic
Like Messi, Krekic began his career at Barcelona, and his start was so strong that the Spanish media began calling him “the new Messi,” especially after he became the youngest player ever to score a goal with the Catalan team, at the age of 17 years and 51 days, and he is the youngest player ever to score a goal with the Catalan team. A record he snatched from Messi in particular at the time.
But the career of the player who physically resembles Messi was not ideal, and he suffered from fluctuations in level during Barcelona’s golden era. He left the team, defending the colors of Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Roma and Milan in Italy, and finally Vissel Kobe in Japan, before retiring in 2023.
Alin Halilovic
Halilovic had a rocketing start with Croatian Dinamo Zagreb, and at the age of only 16 he signed his first professional contract, so Barcelona rushed to sign him in 2014 amid constant comparisons to Messi, and an insistence from the club that he was on his way to discover a new “flea”.
With the passage of time, Barça discovered that it was facing a player who was less than ordinary and did not have what qualifies him to play even in its reserve team, so they loaned him to Sporting Gijon, then Hamburg in Germany, then he left permanently to Las Palmas, and then Milan. He is currently 28 years old, and hardly a football fan. The foot knows something about him.
Eric Lamela
During the same period in which Messi glowed within the La Masia Academy, attention in Argentina was turning towards a promising talent in the academy of the ancient club River Plate, and as usual, Barcelona became “obsessed” with discovering the latest Messi and tried to sign him early to include him in their young team.
However, Lamela chose to stay in his country, before his journey in Europe began in 2011, when he moved to Roma for 18 million euros, then he signed for English club Tottenham, and then Spanish club Sevilla, without becoming the player hopes were based on, and he recently left in a free deal. For the Greek club AEK Athens.
Paulo Dybala
He can be considered the player most compared to Lionel Messi, thanks to the many things in common between them: he is left-handed like him, plays in the same position, has a flea-like physique, and of course has the same Argentine nationality.
Dybala shined early in Italy with Palermo, then he went to Juventus and performed well with them. The current Real Madrid coach, Carlo Anceloni, described him in 2016 as “the new Messi,” and in 2022 he moved to Roma, which continues to defend its colors, without offering anything redeeming. Him compared to Messi.
Giovanni dos Santos
Like many talents who emerged from the “La Masia” academy, Mexican dos Santos was described as “the new Messi”, after he presented some indicators at the beginning of his career that suggested that he was a talented player.
As time passed, it became clear that he had limited talent, and he quickly left Barcelona to play for Racing Santander, Mallorca, and Villarreal in Spain, then Tottenham in England, before continuing his career in the United States, where he retired.
Takefusa Kubo
Barcelona brought him from Japan in 2011 when he was only 10 years old, where he played in its famous academy amid aspirations from its officials to follow in Messi’s footsteps, but an administrative crisis in the club caused his early departure and he returned to his country in 2015.
In 2019, rival Real Madrid signed Kubo while continuing to describe him as “Japan’s Messi”, without him appearing with the “Merengue”, who loaned him to Mallorca, Villarreal, Getafe, then Mallorca again, before selling him permanently to Real Sociedad.
Mounir Al Haddadi
In 2014, Munir El Haddadi shared the dressing room with Messi and was compared in the Catalan press to the Argentine star due to his strong start with the team, as he defended his colors early in his career under the leadership of coach Luis Enrique.
But the level of the Moroccan player gradually declined after that, and he went out on a series of loans before the final sale, and played for Alaves, Getafe, Sevilla, Valencia, Las Palmas, and currently with Leganes.
Ansu Fati
Fati’s talent exploded early in Barcelona and he broke many records, one of which is still registered in his name when he became the youngest player ever to score a goal in the history of Champions League matches at the age of 17 years and 50 days.
After Messi left Barcelona for Saint-Germain, he inherited the number “10”, which was – without a doubt – heavy on him, causing his level to decline significantly, until Barca loaned him to Brighton in England, who preferred to return him to Spain quickly, and currently he is in Barcelona and is still far from the club. The desired level is at the age of 22 years and is looking for a team to move to in the winter Mercato.
Sardar Azmon
“Iranian Messi” was the nickname given to Azmoun after his brilliance in the Russian league, when he played for Rubin Kazan, Rostov, and Zenit St. Petersburg, which prompted German Bayer Leverkusen to sign him in 2022.
The Iranian player did not leave much of an impact in Germany, so he went on loan to Roma, which preferred to abandon him, and he ended up in the UAE League with the Shabab Al-Ahly team.
Adnan Januzaj
From Manchester United, he had a strong start that made some compare him to Messi, where he shined with the “Red Devils”, but he was unable to withstand the pressure in the English club and left for the German club Borussia Dortmund, which is known for its keenness to kidnap and nurture young talents.
After that, Januzaj’s career was not ideal, as he moved between 3 Spanish clubs: Real Sociedad, Sevilla, and now Las Palmas.
