When it comes to football, Lionel Messi knows a thing or two.
The Argentine superstar is widely recognised as one of, if not the greatest, player of his era after winning the coveted Ballon d'Or crown a record-breaking seven times.
But the 36-year-old's extensive list of personal accolades pale in comparison to the amount of silverware he has won with Barcelona and, more recently, Paris Saint-Germain during his illustrious career.
Messi is not only a superstar on the pitch, but he also fancies himself as a bit of a talent-spotter off it, too. The forward tipped 10 wonderkids to reach the top back in 2016 - but how have they fared in the six years since? Mirror Football takes a look...
Gabriel Boschilia
Boschilia made waves for Brazil's youth team at the U20 World Cup back in 2015, but his early promise failed to translate into a career at the top after the youngster was devastated by injuries.
Boschilia's raw potential convinced Monaco to fork out €7million (£6m) to acquire the youngster shortly after, and the attacking midfielder made an instant impact, netting eight goals in just 15 appearances to help fire the Ligue 1 outfit to the French title in 2017.
Shortly after that jubilation, Boschilia suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury - a blow he has since struggled to recover from. Although Boschilia, now 26, is still playing, he made just 10 more appearances over the course of two years before he was offloaded by Monaco in 2020. The former Sao Paulo man is now back in Brazil and on the books at Internacional.
Kasper Dolberg
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When it comes to Messi's predictions, it seemed as though his verdict on Dolberg was the one that would be most likely to come to fruition.
Shortly after he was tipped for world domination by Messi, Dolberg enjoyed a stunning maiden season at Ajax, where he plundered 23 goals in just 43 games. After becoming the latest prodigy to graduate from the Dutch giants' esteemed academy, hopes were high for Dolberg - but over time, the Danish forward became surplus to requirements in Amsterdam.
The 24-year-old had an indifferent spell with Nice in Ligue 1, but he caught the eye again last summer by starring in Denmark's run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals. Dolberg is currently on loan in La Liga with Sevilla but has struggled to make much of an impression in the early weeks of the season.
Jean-Kevin Augustin
Augustin will be known to most fans of English football for his brief, uninspiring stint at Leeds. But the Frenchman was tipped to reach the pinnacle of the industry long before he was left warming the bench at Elland Road.
Augustin rose to prominence during France U19's European championship win in 2016, where the striker bagged both the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament awards. Unsurprisingly, that prompted interest from elsewhere in the striker, who failed to nail down a first-team spot after breaking through at PSG.
Augustin thrived in Germany for RB Leipzig, where he notched 20 goals in 67 appearances. But he failed to make the most of loan spells at Monaco and Leeds, who refused to honour an obligation to purchase the forward after he featured for just 49 minutes across his six-month stint in the Championship.
Although Augustin is unlikely to reach the heights Messi tipped him to reach, he has made an impressive start to life in Switzerland with FC Basel as he bids to rebuild his career.
Patrick Roberts
It wasn't just Messi who believed Roberts would reach the top - countless people dubbed the youngster as the 'English Messi' after he was pinched from Fulham by Manchester City.
But unfortunately, Roberts has spent the last few years floundering around Europe. Roberts did impress during his first stint away from City on loan at Celtic, but he then failed to make any sort of impression at Girona, Derby, Norwich Middlesbrough or Troyes.
Roberts is currently on the books at Sunderland, who handed the winger a career lifeline after he helped them win promotion back to the Championship last year. It remains to be seen if the former England youth star can kick on this year and rebuild his reputation.
Nadezdha Karpova
Karpova was the only woman to feature amongst the names Messi tipped for stardom in 2016.
Karpova earned a move to Europe a year later with Valencia after an impressive stint at Russian side Chertanovo Moscow, but her stint in Spain was not a fruitful one. She managed just three goals for the LaLiga outfit and was farmed out on loan to Sevilla and Espanyol, where she currently plies her trade.
Away from the pitch, the 27-year-old has inspired after she became the first openly gay Russian national team athlete when she came out in June.
Chanathip Songkrasin
In a way, dubbing someone as the 'Thai Messi' almost seems like you're setting them up to fail - but Songkrasin has enjoyed substantial success since being tipped for the top by the real Messi and is widely considered as one of Thailand's greatest ever players.
After joining Muangthong United, Songkrasin inspired the club to a Thai League and Thai League Cup double in his first season; and that double triumph helped set the tone for the rest of the 28-year-old's career.
Since then, Songkrasin has made history by becoming the most expensive domestic player in J.League history after joining champions Kawasaki Frontale for a reported $3.8m (£3.25m) fee back in January.
Alex Muyl
Muyl caught Messi's eye after bursting onto the scene at New York Red Bulls back in 2016, and although the 26-year-old has not enjoyed the type of success the PSG star may have had in mind, he has been a mainstay in the MLS.
The 26-year-old winger won the MLS Supporters' Shield back in 2018; his most productive year for the Red Bulls after racking up 40 appearances and four goals in all competitions.
Following that success, Muyl was traded to Nashville in 2020 and remains a key part of Gary Smith's team.
Kekuta Manneh
Manneh was another star who garnered global attention after impressing in the United States, but Manneh's career trajectory has been significantly different to that of Muyl's.
The Gambian winger made his debut for Vancouver Whitecaps as a teenager and remained at the club until 2017 after rumoured interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Liverpool, failed to materialise into anything concrete.
Since then, Manneh has had spells playing in Switzerland and Mexico before returning to the MLS with FC Cincinnati. The 27-year-old joined USL Championship outfit San Antonio FC in the summer.
Davide Calabria
AC Milan academy graduate Calabria has enjoyed a fine career with his boyhood club since making his senior bow back in 2015.
After biding his time, Calabria established himself as the club's first-choice right-back and the 26-year-old was even named as the club's new captain by Milan chief Stefano Piolo in the summer.
Since being tipped to reach the top by Messi, Calabria has clocked up almost 200 appearances for Milan and even helped the Italian giants end their 11-year wait for a domestic crown last year - making him by far one of Messi's shrewdest picks.
Nathan
Nathan was acquired by Chelsea back in 2015 as part of the London club's mission to hoover up the globe's top young talent. But like so many other talented prospects before him, the Brazilian midfielder failed to make the grade at Stamford Bridge.
The ex-Atletico Paranaense man, now 26, was farmed out on loan to Chelsea's feeder club, Vitesse Arnhem, but that didn't lead to a first-team change in west London.
After various stints around Europe, Nathan found a home in his native Brazil and enjoyed moderate success with Atletico Mineiro. He is currently on loan at Fluminense after winning the Brazilian title with Mineiro in 2021.
