The video, posted on Adidas Football’s channels on 11 October, is the third edition of the “Messi +10” campaign the sportswear brand began in January 2025. It landed with Lionel Messi newly retired from international football after Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
Adidas framed the drop as a baton pass.
“A legacy to build on. The next chapter starts here. Meet the rising stars of Messi +10, season three,” the brand wrote on its channels.
The 10 players on Messi’s season three list
Seven men and three women make up the class, with clubs across seven countries. The names and ages, as released:
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- Max Dowman (16), England, Arsenal
- Chloe Sarwie (17), England, Chelsea
- Gilberto Mora (17), Mexico, Tijuana
- Giovanna Waksman (17), Brazil, OL Lyonnes
- Lotta Wrede (18), Germany, Hamburger SV
- Zavier Gozo (19), United States, Crystal Palace
- Tomás Aranda (19), Argentina, Boca Juniors
- Can Uzun (20), Turkey, Eintracht Frankfurt
- Kees Smit (20), Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar
- Jesús Rodríguez (20), Spain, Como
Earlier seasons of the campaign featured Lamine Yamal, Nico Paz and Rio Ngumoha.
Mora turns 18 on Wednesday, and that date is the point
Mora’s 18th birthday is 14 October. Under FIFA’s rules on international transfers of minors, he can only sign for a foreign senior club once he is of age, which turns the next window into the first real one.
Liverpool have made direct contact with the player’s representatives, TEAMtalk reported in July, with as many as 15 clubs in the race. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal are all in the group that has gone further than casual interest, according to Goal.
Mora’s agent is Rafaela Pimenta, the lawyer who inherited much of the late Mino Raiola’s agency. Her focus, TEAMtalk wrote, is “the importance of a competitive environment that prioritises development over pure prestige”.
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The structured release clause Tijuana wrote into his extended contract is reported to be around €25m, with Latination putting the figure at $26.8m. Several reports suggest Liverpool have been willing to pay well above that to settle the matter early.
Across 53 appearances for Tijuana, Mora has 10 goals. At the 2026 World Cup, played on Mexican soil, he was the player opponents could not take their eyes off, with Mexico eventually losing 2-3 to England in the last 16.
Dowman, Gozo and the rest of Messi’s class
The spread tells its own story. Arsenal’s Dowman is 16, Lyon’s Waksman 17, Crystal Palace’s Gozo an American who has quietly built a case through the Premier League. Como’s Rodríguez and AZ Alkmaar’s Smit represent two of Europe’s harder leagues to break into at 20.
Three of the ten are women, playing in Chelsea, Lyon and Hamburger SV shirts, continuing the mixed-roster format Adidas used in the first two seasons.
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For Mora, Messi’s nod lands in the same window his move is actually being negotiated. His 18th birthday on Wednesday is the day the paperwork becomes possible.
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