Next summer, Lionel Messi will turn 39. Time is relentless, and while he continues to perform at an elite level, it is clear that the end of his career is drawing closer. While many point to Lamine Yamal as the potential heir to the Argentine forward, Zlatan Ibrahimovic offered an unexpected alternative.
“If you want to see a miniature version of Messi, you have to watch Ciro Messi,” Ibrahimovic said, according to Sport. The Swedish legend was referring to the youngest of Leo’s three sons, born in early 2018 and set to turn eight in the coming months.
Zlatan was in Florida attending a U-8 tournament in which a youth team from Inter Miami participated, with Ciro among its players. Wearing the iconic No. 10 jersey made famous by his father, the youngster was the standout performer of the competition and finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
“I’m happy to give him this award,” Ibrahimovic said. And as if the praise were not enough, the former AC Milan and LA Galaxy striker added an optimistic prediction about Ciro: “This kid will go far in the future.”
Ibrahimovic knows Messi well
The comments about Ciro carry particular weight given who they come from. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not only one of the great forwards of the 21st century, but also someone who knows Lionel Messi extremely well after playing alongside him at Barcelona.
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They were teammates during the 2009–10 season with the Spanish club, when Pep Guardiola was the head coach. Although their time together was brief, they formed an effective attacking partnership that allowed both to shine: Messi scored 47 goals that season, while Zlatan added 21. Together, they won five trophies, including La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The pressure of being Messi’s successor
Since Lionel Messi became a global soccer icon, every young player with similar traits has been quickly labeled as the potential successor to the Argentine star. That even happened during Messi’s early years at Barcelona, when Bojan Krkic began making his first-team appearances alongside him. Years later, Ansu Fati was given the same label. In both cases, time proved the comparisons to be exaggerated, as neither player reached a level comparable to Messi’s.
The latest name added to that list is Lamine Yamal. Unlike those before him, the Barcelona winger has established himself at both club and international level despite being just 18 years old, already becoming a key player for the Spain national team and finishing second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or voting. Even so, Yamal still has a long road ahead, and it remains to be seen how he handles the pressure of being, for many, “the new Messi.”
