About six years ago, 10 promising youngsters were backed by Messi as part of an Adidas campaign. The players were even given 'Messi15' boots to wear for the 2015/16 season.
However, rather few of those players have met Messi's expectations since then. Tribuna.com tracks them all down to find out whether the Argentinian magician is as good at judging players' potential as he is at playing football.
Accursio Bentivegna
Who? An 18-year-old at the time, Bentivegna made his first steps in professional football with Palermo. In 2015, after making 3 appearances for his boyhood club, the forward was loaned out to Como.
Where is he now? After leaving Palermo in 2018, Bentivegna joined Carrarese in Serie C. Accursio is currently on loan at Imolese (that's Serie C too) from Juve Stabia.
Jeremie Boga
Who? One of the many players in Chelsea's Loan Army who made his debut for the Blues and left to gain experience elsewhere. In 2015, the Ivorian winger was loaned out for the first time in his career.
Where is he now? Boga failed to make it at Chelsea, but he's enjoying quite a decent spell with Sassuolo, scoring 17 goals in Serie A in two seasons. A solid player who might yet make a step forward - he's only 24, after all.
Maxwel Cornet
Who? A forward who joined Lyon in 2015 after coming through the ranks with Metz; he also made his Ligue 1 debut that year.
Where is he now? Still at Lyon, and going quite strong: since the 2015-16 season, Cornet has never played less than 30 games per season (this season, he has already made 25 apps). The 23-year-old has also become a regular at the Ivory Coast national team.
Kenedy
Who? Another Chelsea youngster who had been signed from Fluminense for a fee of around £6.3 million. A regular feature in the Brazil U17 and U20 teams.
Where is he now? Unlike Boga, Kenedy is still on Chelsea's books, but it's not going to last for much longer. The winger has had a mediocre spell on loan at Getafe and currently tries to impress at Granada.
Rony Lopes
Who? The Portuguese attacking midfielder had come through the Man City Academy but never played in the Premier League. Instead, he went on to forge a solid career in France, with Lille and especially Monaco enjoying the best of his seasons so far.
Where is he now? Lopes is on loan at Nice from Sevilla. The 25-year-old has scored just 4 goals despite being a regular starter.
Alexey Miranchuk
Who? By 2015, the attacking midfielder had already established himself with the first team at Lokomotiv Moscow. In the summer of that year, he even made an international debut for Russia.
Where is he now? The 25-year-old has recently signed for Atalanta. Miranchuk is an impact sub for the Bergamo side but he has managed to net 4 goals already.
Khiry Shelton
Who? One of the most promising players in the United States, Shelton was the second overall choice in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by New York City FC, Manchester City's sister club. Shelton was consistently given chances with the first team but only scored 6 goals in three seasons with the club.
Where is he now? After a disastrous spell at Paderborn (6 games, zero goals), Shelton returned to the USA and signed with Sporting Kansas City. Shelton has bagged just 7 goals in 47 appearances for Kansas so far.
James Wilson
Who? A striker with Man United who scored a brace on his Premier League debut against Hull City in 2014. The following season, he already made 13 PL appearances with the Red Devils.
Where is he now? This was as good as it got for the striker who has only played one game for United since then. Wilson's now at League Two side Salford, owned by former United players Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt.
Timo Werner
Who? A Stuttgart youngster who had the club's youngest ever goalscorer in the 2013-14 season. In 2016, he was poached by RB Leipzig for €10 million.
Where is he now? Currently at Chelsea, Timo Werner has netted just 10 goals in 33 games in all competitions, but the Blues still pin their hopes on him.
Gyasi Zardes
Who? Already an established first-team player with LA Galaxy who had scored 19 goals in 2014 at the age of 23.
Where is he now? Still at MLS, currently at Columbus Crew where he has won the MLS trophy and scored 48 goals in 90 games since his arrival there in 2018. Also, Zardes has 56 caps with the United States team.
In short, Leo Messi didn't turn out to be as great a scout as a footballer. Only Timo Werner can be called a star right now, while for Accursio Bentivegna and James Wilson, Messi's backing could've been the highlight of their careers. Most of the players on the list, though, have become reasonably decent ones - but none of them will be anywhere as good as Messi.
