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5 players who were dubbed the next Messi - where are they now?

Juan Iturbe was dubbed the Paraguayan MessiEver since Lionel Messi became a worldwide football sensation over the past decade, Messi has captured the hearts and imagination of fans and players of all ages who have tried to emulate the Argentine forward. Of course, nobody has come even close to displaying the skills of the Barcelona talisman in practice, let alone on a football pitch.But a select few showed a lot of promise at a very young age, good enough to be dubbed the ‘next Messi’ or something along those lines. We look at five such players who had the potential to truly be considered Messi’s heir.

#1 Lorenzo Insigne

Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne – The Italian Messi

The 24-year-old Napoli winger looked all set to be sidelined this season after a knee injury threatened to sideline him at the start of the season. But he has since shaken it off and surprised the league with some fantastic performances that has helped Napoli top the table. 

A Naples boy through and through, Insigne has risen through the ranks of Napoli’s youth setup before his breakthrough year in 2012/13. He had scored 5 goals and 7 assists that season – phenomenal numbers for a 21-year-old in Serie A.

Insigne is a lot like Messi. He is also short (only 5’4”) and the low centre of gravity makes him a nightmare to defend against. He is a creative attacking player with an eye for goal, has pace and is useful on set-pieces. No wonder then that his former club teammate Goran Pandev nicknamed him the Italian Messi.

This season, Insigne has raised his level a couple of notches and has 10 goals and 10 assists in the league – no other player in Europe has reached double digits for goals and assists! In his last five matches, he has 3 goals and 5 assists.

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