5 young players who received praise from Lionel Messi over the years

#3 Mason Mount | Chelsea

Lionel Messi is apparently a fan of the Chelsea star

Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount also had a spot on Lionel Messi's list of 15 rising talents to keep an eye on in the football world last year. Leo admitted to having watched the Englishman in action and believes he has what it takes to reach the top.

"Having watched him play, he has the potential to be one of the best," the Argentine was quoted as saying.

Mason Mount has proven to be a huge talent indeed. The midfielder provided a beautiful assist for Kai Havertz to score Chelsea's winning goal in the Champions League final last season. Since being promoted to the first team in 2019, the midfielder has made 116 appearances for the Blues across all competitions, contributing 17 goals and 16 assists.

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#2 Ansu Fati | Barcelona

Ansu Fati has earned praise from many for his impressive performances in the Barcelona jersey

Before many knew how of the attacker's talent, Lionel Messi had already praised him during an interview in 2019. Shortly after winning his most recent 'The Best' award, Leo spoke about the fast-rising youngster.

He said: "Ansu Fati got my attention from the first time I saw him training, but you have to go step-by-step because he is 16 years old.

"He still doesn’t have the responsibility that others want to put on his shoulders. He has the potential to be a very important player, but we have to help him”

Ansu Fati's progress was delayed due to a long-term injury he picked up last year. However, the 18-year-old has put that crisis behind him and bounced back in style this season. He's made four appearances for the Catalan giants so far, recording two goals to his name.

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#1 Kylian Mbappe | PSG

Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe became teammates this summer

Kylian Mbappe is one of few young players Lionel Messi has praised over the last couple of years. The Argentine recently lauded the Frenchman while comparing him to Luis Suarez, as he discussed the famous MSN trio he was part of at Barcelona and the MNM he currently belongs to at PSG.

He said: "Kylian and Luis are two very different players. Luis is a pure number 9, a lone striker, who's particularly good in the box and is used to scoring lots of goals.

"Kylian likes to be on the ball more, he's a very strong and extremely rapid player, who kills you if you leave any space and scores a lot as well."

At just 22 years old, Mbappe is already one of the biggest superstars in world football. The winger is already a World Cup and UEFA Nations League champion with France and has an impressive 184 goals and 83 assists to his name at club level.