Lionel Messi has made his admiration for young Liverpool sensation Rio Ngumoha clear in a new social media video. The Barcelona and Argentina icon featured Ngumoha among his top 10 emerging stars in world football.
In collaboration with Adidas Football, Messi appears in a video where he shuffles a deck of cards before laying them out on a table. Each card reveals one of the brightest young attacking midfielders, including Ngumoha, alongside Andrey Santos, Kendry Paez, and Nico Paz.
The post’s caption reads: “Every card counts. The perfect 10. This is Messi +10.”
A voiceover adds:
> “The perfect 10. It starts with a shuffle, relies on a few tricks — a 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 10 — that’s how you pick the future of the game.”
Ngumoha reacted proudly on social media, sharing a picture of his own card from the video with the caption “Messi +10” alongside praying and football emojis.
The 17-year-old, who joined Liverpool from Chelsea in the summer of 2024, has already made his mark at Anfield. He announced himself in style with a last-minute winner in the Reds’ 3–2 victory over Newcastle United earlier this season — only his second Premier League appearance.
Since then, Ngumoha has signed his first professional contract with the club, following his debut in the FA Cup win over Accrington in January and five subsequent seni
or appearances.
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