MLS wonderkid who Lionel Messi tipped for greatness in 2015 is now without a club | OneFootball

Back in 2015, Lionel Messi tipped 10 youngsters for greatness and it’s safe to say that some of them have done better than others.

Among the players that Messi tipped for stardom were Timo Werner, Jeremie Boga and Maxwel Cornet, who’ve all enjoyed careers at the top level.

However, others have faded into obscurity since Messi tipped them for the big time.

Among the players that he named in 2015 was former LA Galaxy youngster Gyasi Zardes, who made quite an impression at a young age.

In 2014, he led LA Galaxy to the MLS Cup, having scored 19 goals and became a key player in a team that also featured the likes of Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane.

“He’s becoming a real player,” Donovan said in 2014 when describing the striker.

“I’ll say it again, if teams want to focus on other players on our team, then he’s going to punish them. And so eventually teams have to pick their poison, but we’re just going to let him keep playing and keep playing well and just do his thing.”

The United States striker was linked with a move to Europe on several occasions, but has spent his entire career up until this point playing in MLS.

He spent the first five years of his career playing for LA Galaxy and scored 40 goals in 154 appearances.

In January 2018, he moved to Columbus Crew, where he enjoyed the most prolific years of his career. In 122 games, he scored 61 goals and averaged a strike every 163 minutes.

Since then, he’s had stints with Colorado Rapids and Austin FC, but now aged 34 finds himself without a club.

Throughout 2024, he scored four goals for Austin FC, but has been without a club since being let go at the end of last year.

Given that Zardes ranks 10th on the all-time MLS scoring charts with 106 goals, it’s surprising that he’s been without a club for the past year.

He also boasts a solid record on the international stage, having scored 14 goals across 68 appearances for the United States.

It remains to be seen whether he’ll return to action next year or if he decides to hang up his boots and call it quits on his professional career.

Funnily enough, he’s not the only player that Messi tipped for stardom in 2015 who’s now without a club either.

Indeed, former Manchester United academy graduate James Wilson has also suffered a similar fate to that of Zardes.

After making a name for himself at Old Trafford, Wilson couldn’t establish himself in the top tier, but has done well as a lower league striker.

Having recently enjoyed stints with Salford City, Port Vale and Northampton Town, he’s been without a club since the summer.

Aged 29, he’s five years younger than Zardes and will surely be itching to get back into the game as soon as possible.