When Liverpool signed Rio Ngumoha in 2024, there was a quiet whisper inside Anfield that something special had just happened. Nobody shouted it out loud, nobody made a big scene, but those who had seen the young boy play already knew there was something different about him. His touch, his balance, his calmness — it was not normal for someone his age. Chelsea, the club he left behind, were furious. They knew what they had just lost. The argument over his transfer fee still drags on today, because Chelsea never believed they should have lost him in the first place. But Liverpool didn’t care. They knew this was not just another young player. This was someone they would one day call a jewel of Anfield.
When Rio arrived at the AXA Training Centre, he didn’t look like someone who would change the atmosphere of a senior team. He was quiet, shy, still carrying the weight of being a teenager. But then he stepped onto the training pitch. And that’s when everything changed. The coaches who were watching couldn’t believe what they were seeing. His first touch killed the ball like silk. His movement made defenders dizzy. The story around the training ground was that a few defenders were embarrassed so badly that the clips from those sessions were never released. The coaches didn’t want to humiliate senior players. But those who were there knew. Something rare had just arrived.
By the time a few sessions were over, Liverpool staff had already changed their plans. They didn’t want him stuck in the youth team. He was too good for that. They moved him closer to the senior players. It didn’t take long before the whispers reached Jurgen Klopp, who at the time was still in charge, and even after Klopp’s departure, Arne Slot saw the same thing: this was a boy who didn’t need to be told what to do. He played football like someone born to be on that pitch.
Now at just 17 years old, Rio Ngumoha is part of Liverpool’s first-team squad, sharing a dressing room with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. He has already made appearances in both the Premier League and the Champions League. He is still a teenager, but the club treats him like a treasure that must be protected. He recently signed a new professional contract, sealing his long-term future at Liverpool. The club has no plan to let him go, not now, not ever. He is one of their most prized assets.
But what nobody expected was how far his name would travel — and who would take notice. Because when Lionel Messi, the man many call the greatest footballer of all time, picks you out of a crowd of rising stars, the world starts to listen.
A new advertisement from Adidas has taken social media by storm. In the video, Messi is seen sitting with a deck of cards. Each card represents a young talent. The narrator’s voice echoes softly: “The perfect hand. It starts with the shuffle. It relies on a few tricks. Sleight of hand. Nothing is left to chance. Every card is considered. A true maestro knows how to pick them. It’s about pairs that make players fold. The diamond play. A full spread of aces. The perfect ten. That’s how you pick the future of the game.”
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As Messi flips through the cards, names begin to appear — Kendry Paez, Rodrigo Mora, Mika Godts, Nico Paz, Kader Meite, Andrey Santos, Brajan Gruda, Lily Yohannes, Clara Serrajordi — and then, among them, one that catches the attention of every Liverpool fan watching. Rio Ngumoha.
For a brief second, his face flashes across the screen. Just one second — but that second has set the football world on fire. Messi has picked him as one of his “perfect ten,” his chosen future stars, the ones who will carry the torch when the greats of today step aside. It’s only an advertisement, yes, but when it comes from Messi, the world pays attention. This is not a random marketing gimmick. This is a message.
Inside Liverpool’s training base, there’s a quiet pride about it. The young boy who arrived just a year ago, who made senior defenders look silly in training, is now on a list chosen by Messi himself. That kind of recognition cannot be bought. It can only be earned by talent so pure that even the greatest recognize it.
Rio himself has not said much publicly. That’s who he is — calm, humble, and focused. But those around him say he was stunned when he saw the clip. For a moment, he couldn’t believe it. Lionel Messi. The man he grew up watching on TV. The player whose videos he used to study at night. The one whose every movement he tried to copy during youth matches — now mentioning him as part of football’s future. It’s not just praise. It’s a passing of the torch.
For many young players, this kind of attention can become a burden. The pressure, the comparisons, the weight of expectation — it can crush a teenager before he even begins. But for Rio Ngumoha, it feels different. Those who know him say he is not easily shaken. He plays for joy. He smiles when he has the ball. He trains like he’s playing in his backyard. The fame doesn’t change him. The cameras don’t scare him. He knows what he wants — to play football at the highest level and make Liverpool proud.
In the Messi video, Rio stands out not just for being a Premier League player but for being the only Englishman among the ten. That detail means something. It shows that Messi and Adidas see him not just as another young player, but as a representative of English football’s next great generation. Alongside Andrey Santos, he carries the Premier League’s future image in that lineup.
Inside the Liverpool fan base, excitement is already growing. Supporters have started flooding social media with clips of Rio’s highlights, comparing his dribbles and close control to the early days of Messi himself. It’s a dangerous comparison, but also a thrilling one. Because in every football era, there comes a young name that makes people dream again. For Liverpool fans, that name might just be Rio Ngumoha.
When Messi chooses someone, he does not do it carelessly. Over the years, he has rarely gone out of his way to spotlight young players. He has always let his football speak for him, not his endorsements. So when he quietly puts his face and brand next to a young boy from Liverpool, people take it as more than marketing — they see it as an endorsement of greatness waiting to bloom.
In truth, Messi probably sees a bit of himself in Rio. Both left-footed, both love running at defenders, both carry that soft first touch that makes defenders freeze. Rio might still be years away from Messi’s level, but every great journey starts somewhere. And this could be the spark that drives him even harder.
Liverpool’s staff believe this recognition could push Rio to another level. He already has the talent, the discipline, and the humility. Now he has something else — belief. When you know the best player in the world sees something in you, it changes everything. It gives you courage to take risks, confidence to try the impossible. It turns fear into ambition.
At Anfield, Rio has already begun to make small memories. Late substitute appearances, flashes of skill, a few daring dribbles that made fans rise from their seats. But this is only the beginning. The club’s plan is to slowly build him up, protect him from too much spotlight, and let him grow naturally. They don’t want to rush him, but after this Messi moment, it will be hard to keep the cameras away.
England too will soon start to notice. The fact that Messi picked an English teenager says a lot about where the national team could be heading. Fans are already imagining Rio in a Three Lions shirt one day, gliding past defenders in a major tournament. The idea is still a dream, but football is built on dreams like that.
Even if Messi’s video was just an advert, the symbolism behind it runs deep. Messi calling someone the “future of the game” carries weight. It’s a blessing, a warning, and a challenge all at once. It tells Rio that he’s seen, that greatness is possible — but it also reminds him that talent alone is never enough. To reach Messi’s level, he will have to fight for it every single day.
In the corridors of Melwood and the stands of Anfield, older fans are already whispering stories of past legends — of Gerrard, of Owen, of Fowler — and how they too were once young boys who carried the hopes of Liverpool on their shoulders. Rio now joins that sacred list.
When he walks onto the pitch, there’s a calmness about him. He doesn’t rush. He doesn’t force things. He plays with an old soul, like someone who has done this a thousand times before. And maybe that’s why Messi noticed. Because Messi too, even at 17, had that same stillness, that same quiet power.
Liverpool supporters know how rare that is. It’s why they love him already. They chant his name softly during warm-ups, hoping he hears them. They post his pictures with captions like “The Chosen One,” or “Messi’s Successor.” It’s not pressure — it’s pride. They believe they are witnessing the birth of something beautiful.
Rio might not yet understand the size of the path he’s stepping into. To be compared to Messi, even slightly, is to carry the world’s expectations. But he’s walking that road with grace. He knows football changes fast. One injury, one mistake, one bad season — and everything could disappear. But for now, he’s focused on the present. One training at a time. One match at a time.
For Lionel Messi, this might have been just another shoot day with Adidas. But for Rio Ngumoha, it was life-changing. The moment his face appeared next to Messi’s handpicked future stars, a new chapter began. The football world noticed. Coaches, fans, journalists — everyone began asking: who is Rio Ngumoha? Soon, they will find out.
Because behind that humble smile is a fearless boy who dreams big. He’s not scared of comparisons. He’s not chasing fame. He’s chasing greatness — the kind Messi defined, the kind Liverpool demands.
And if destiny truly has a sense of drama, maybe, just maybe, one day we will see Messi in the stands, watching Rio glide across the pitch at Anfield, smiling quietly to himself, thinking, “Yes, I chose right.”
Because legends are not chosen by chance. They are discovered by those who understand the game deeply. And if Lionel Messi sees the future in Rio Ngumoha, then maybe the next era of football has already begun. And its heart beats in Liverpool red.
