Clearly, Manchester City would love to bring Lionel Messi to the Etihad as part of their short-term quest to win the Champions League in the next three to four years.
But the club is also looking to South America in its long-term planning. They recently brought in two teenage attacking right-backs – Yan Couto from Brazil and Kluiverth Aguilar from Peru – and are about to bring in a 17-year-old mini-Messi: Dario Sarmiento from Estudiantes.
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Labeling young people as “the new Messi” is unimaginative and cruel. It was too much for Juan Manuel Iturbe, who was born in Argentina and raised in Paraguay, and carried the burden for a time. Now in Mexico, he roamed all over Europe unable to live up to expectations. Also in Mexico is Sergio Díaz, a Paraguayan who accumulated goals in the senior category at age 16 before being picked up by Real Madrid. He had injury problems and, although time is still on his side (at 22 he is five years younger than Iturbe), clearly he is not going to be a phenomenon.
The road between promise and reality is long, winding, and bumpy. There are obvious dangers in overdoing it with Sarmiento, a player with less than 10 senior games and no goals to his credit.
On the other hand, his potential is impressive and the similarities with Messi striking. A famous name from the Argentine game certainly seems to be convinced. Alejandro Sabella had a career as an illustrious player, with spells at Leeds and Sheffield United, as well as at Estudiantes, the club he trained to triumph in the 2009 Copa Libertadores. He was also in charge of Messi’s Argentina when they reached the World Cup final. 2014.
Sarmiento told ESPN Argentina that Sabella looked for him, knelt down, and told him he was going to be a star. Sabella was touched by Sarmiento’s left foot, by his poise and poise, by the way he can knock three opponents out of the game with a quick blast, but also by his ability to see passes around him and make calm decisions. And while he looks like the smallest member of a boy band, he’s stronger on the ball than he looks.
It may be cruel, but ignoring his similarities to a teenage Messi, whom Sarmiento has grown up idolizing, would not be human.
Even if a big offer of money comes in from Man City, Sarmiento can’t cross the Atlantic until he’s 18, which means he’ll likely stay at Estudiantes for another year. This are good news. Before the coronavirus shutdown in March, they took it gradually, mostly exiting the bank in the second half, gaining experience at a manageable speed.
Sarmiento is also in good company, with former Argentine international Gabriel Milito as coach, Javier Mascherano as teammate and Juan Sebastián Verón as club president. And possibly in the future he even has Messi as a teammate at Manchester City.
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