Lionel Messi has publicly expressed his admiration for Liverpool’s young talent Rio Ngumoha in a new social media post. The Barcelona and Argentina legend included the 17-year-old among his top 10 emerging stars in world football.
In partnership with Adidas Football, Messi appears in a video where he shuffles a deck of cards and lays them on a table — each card revealing a rising attacking midfielder. Among them are Ngumoha, Andrey Santos, Kendry Páez, and Nico Paz.
The post is captioned: “Every card counts. The perfect 10. This is Messi +10.”
A voiceover in the video declares:
“The perfect 10 begins with a shuffle, built on skill and precision. Every card matters. A true maestro knows how to pick them — the right pairings, the diamond plays, the full hand of aces. That’s how you choose the future of the game.”
Ngumoha proudly responded on his own social media, sharing an image of his card from the video alongside the caption “Messi +10” with prayer and football emojis.
The young midfielder, who moved from Chelsea to Liverpool in the summer of 2024, has already impressed at Anfield. He made headlines with a dramatic last-minute winner in a 3–2 victory over Newcastle United, only his second Premier League appearance.
Since then, Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract with Liverpool, following his senior debut in the FA Cup win over Accrington in January and several subsequent appearances for the first team.
