Lionel Messi has selected ten young footballers for the third season of Messi +10, an adidas campaign spotlighting emerging talent.

The list, announced on 11 October 2026, features seven male players and three female players, including Arsenal teenager Max Dowman. adidas introduced the campaign with the line: “A legacy to build on… the next chapter starts here.”

The Ten Players Named in Messi +10 Season 3

The selection spans nine countries and includes three female players. The ten footballers named in the campaign, alongside their respective clubs, are:

10. Lotta Wrede (Germany, Hamburger SV)

Lotta Wrede joined Hamburger SV in 2024. She scored in the 2-0 victory over Freiburg II that secured the club’s promotion to the Frauen-Bundesliga, before making her top-flight debut against Wolfsburg on 7 September 2025.

She later scored her first Bundesliga goal in a 1-0 win over RB Leipzig, giving Hamburger SV its first league victory at that level since 2012. FBref records 22 Frauen-Bundesliga appearances and three goals for Wrede in the 2025-26 season.

She has also scored three goals in nine appearances for Germany’s Under-19s.

Her progress from helping Hamburger SV secure promotion to scoring in the top flight makes her one of the young players to watch in the Messi +10 selection.

9. Giovanna Waksman (Brazil, Lyon)

Giovanna Waksman, a midfielder born in March 2009, was named best player at the 2024 South American Under-17 Championship and scored at the Under-17 World Cup, according to Footeuses and QueenBallers.

She reportedly scored 133 goals in 35 games for her Florida school team. Waksman tore knee ligaments during the Under-17 World Cup in October 2025.

Before signing her first professional contract with Lyon on 9 March 2026, running until 2028. She was still recovering from the injury when she signed.

Her inclusion in Messi +10 comes on the back of her standout youth performances, with her senior career still at an early stage.

8. Chloe Sarwie (England, Chelsea)

Sarwie, a left-back born in December 2008, joined Chelsea’s academy at nine. Over the past year, she has made her Women’s Super League and Women’s Champions League debuts, signed her first professional contract and helped England’s Under-23s win a European competition.

Chelsea also named her in England’s squad for the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, held from 5 to 27 September 2026. Goal has suggested she could help solve England’s long-standing problem at left-back.

At 17, Sarwie has already made the step up to senior football for Chelsea and represented England across several age groups. That progress could help explain why Messi included her in the Messi +10 selection.

7. Kees Smit (Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar)

Kees Smit, a midfielder born in 2006, joined AZ Alkmaar’s academy at nine and has made 84 first-team appearances, scoring seven goals and providing 14 assists.

He won the KNVB Cup with AZ last season and made his Netherlands senior debut in March 2026, starting in a 2-1 win over Norway under Ronald Koeman.

Goal also reported, citing Voetbal International, that AZ had agreed to extend his contract until mid-2030, although the club has not confirmed the deal.

His record of 14 assists in 84 appearances highlights his creative contribution from midfield, while his success with AZ in youth and senior competitions adds to the case for his place on Messi’s list.

6. Jesús Rodríguez (Spain, Como)

Jesús Rodríguez, born in November 2005, is a winger who came through Real Betis’s academy before joining Como in 2025 in a deal worth just over €22 million. He was part of Spain’s squad that won the 2024 European Under-19 Championship.

He made his senior international debut in September 2025, replacing Lamine Yamal in a 3-0 win over Bulgaria. He recorded 31 Serie A appearances and two goals in the 2025-26 season, according to Wikipedia.

At Como, Rodríguez works under Cesc Fàbregas, Messi’s former Barcelona teammate. His progress from Betis’s academy to Serie A and the Spain senior team explains his inclusion in Messi +10.

5. Zavier Gozo (United States, Crystal Palace)

Zavier Gozo, born in Utah in March 2007, came through Real Salt Lake’s academy and made 50 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals and providing eight assists, according to ESPN.

He recorded six goals and five assists in the 2026 MLS season before leaving the club and was named an MLS All-Star. Crystal Palace signed him on 18 August 2026 to a five-year deal, with ESPN reporting a fee of $15 million.

Gozo made his Palace debut as a 68th-minute substitute in a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City. South London News reported that he earned his first senior cap for the United States less than five months after missing out on the World Cup squad.

His rapid move from MLS to the Premier League, followed by his international breakthrough, helps explain his place on Messi’s list.

4. Max Dowman (England, Arsenal)

Max Dowman, born on 31 December 2009, made his Premier League debut against Leeds United in August 2025 at 15 years and 235 days old, winning a penalty in Arsenal’s 5-0 victory, according to the club.

He became the competition’s youngest goalscorer against Everton on 14 March 2026, aged 16 years and 73 days. He also became its youngest player to win the title when Arsenal lifted the 2025-26 trophy, before setting another age record as its youngest starter on 24 May 2026.

In November 2025, he became the youngest player to appear in the Champions League.

Dowman was named Premier League Homegrown Debutant of the Season, an award Arsenal says he won, and AOL reports he shared it with Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha. SportBible, StatMuse, and Flashscore list him as having made six Premier League appearances last season.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has described him as “certainly one of the best” academy players he has seen. Dowman’s record-breaking season at 16, capped by Arsenal’s Premier League title, gives a clear indication of why he caught Messi’s attention for the Messi +10 selection.

3. Gilberto Mora (Mexico, Tijuana)

Gilberto Mora, born in 2008, became the youngest goalscorer in Liga MX history in August 2024, aged 15 years and 320 days. FIFA reported that he became the youngest player to make an official senior debut for Mexico in June 2025.

World Soccer Talk included him in the squad that won the 2025 Gold Cup. At the 2026 World Cup, he became the youngest Mexican to play at the tournament, aged 17 years and 240 days, before Mexico were eliminated by England in the knockout round.

Tijuana gave him a new three-year contract on 9 June 2026, and Footy Access reported that he scored his first goal for Mexico against Colombia in September 2026.

Mora has already set records in Liga MX and for Mexico, with experience spanning a continental title and the senior World Cup. That range of achievements has earned him a place on Messi’s list.

2. Can Uzun (Turkey, Eintracht Frankfurt)

Can Uzun, born in November 2005, joined Eintracht Frankfurt from Nuremberg in July 2024 on a five-year contract after scoring 16 goals in Germany’s second division.

In the 2025-26 season, he scored in each of Frankfurt’s first five Bundesliga games and finished with eight league goals and four assists in 21 appearances. He also scored twice in five Champions League appearances.

Uzun scored his first goal for Turkey in a 4-0 friendly win over North Macedonia in June 2026. It is also reported that he was named in Turkey’s 26-man World Cup squad.

His goals in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, alongside his inclusion in Turkey’s World Cup squad at 20, help explain his place on Messi’s list.

1. Tomás Aranda (Argentina, Boca Juniors)

Tomás Aranda, born in 2007, is an attacking midfielder who made his senior Boca Juniors debut in January 2026 and scored his first goal against Instituto in March.

Argentine outlet El Destape credits him with 32 senior appearances for Boca, one goal and three assists, and reports that he has also made his Argentina debut.

Aranda fractured his right fibula in training on 26 August 2026 and underwent surgery, with his return expected in 2027. He is the only Argentine in Messi +10 Season 3, having reached Boca’s first team and the Argentina squad within months of each other.

How the Selection Compares With Earlier Messi +10 Seasons

The Messi +10 campaign began in October 2024, when Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal was among the ten players selected. Season 2 followed in October 2025, with Rio Ngumoha, Andrey Santos, and Kendry Páez among those named.

Messi’s adidas video came days after his retirement from international football after Argentina’s match against Benin on 6 October 2026. He scored a penalty before bidding farewell to a team he'd represented since 2005.

Now Messi is backing some of the brightest stars in men's football to potentially follow in his footsteps. They have a huge task on their hands to come anywhere close to his accomplishments.