Five 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.
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 has made just 7 appearances for the minnows across all competitions this season. It's safe to say that his career has not played out in the way Messi envisaged.
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 successful spell with Sassuolo, scoring 11 goals in Serie A this season. A solid player who might yet make a step forward - he's only 23, after all.
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. The 23-year-old has also become a regular at the Ivory Coast national team.
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 if any club wishes to sign him permanently, Chelsea won't hold on to the 24-year-old.
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' first season with Sevilla was disappointing: the Portugal international has only made 15 appearances with the Spanish team, with only 5 of them coming in La Liga.
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? AC Milan and even Juventus reportedly enquired about Miranchuk, but he's still at Lokomotiv and is now one of the best players in the Russian Premier League. Together with his twin brother Anton, Aleksey won the competition in the 2017-18 season.
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), Shelto returned to the USA and signed with Sporting Kansas City. Since the football returned, the 27-year-old has scored 2 goals in 2 games - still far from a world-class level.
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.
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? Having a rest after the most prolific season to date: Werner scored 34 goals in 45 games for Leipzig. Chelsea are already waiting for him after arranging his transfer. The best player on the list, and with a huge margin.
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 scored 37 goals in 68 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.
