Chelsea told teenage wonderkid 'has everything to be better than Leo Messi and Neymar' after sealing loan move

New Chelsea recruit Kendry Paez will spend the season at Strasbourg after arriving in Europe from his native Ecuador, but has been backed to become a superstar in the future.

• Paez tipped for future success
• Talent hyped by ex-Ecuador star
• Chelsea loan teen to Strasbourg

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Ecuador international Carlos Tenorio has expressed his firm belief that young compatriot Paez has the talent to go all the way to the very top, and even surpass icons like Lionel Messi and Neymar. The key to realising that potential, the retired striker says, is the player himself staying on the right path and being advised well by the people around him.

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• WHAT TENORIO SAID

  "He has everything to be better than Leo Messi, better than Neymar, but it depends on him and his entourage," Tenorio, who enjoyed his most prolific years with Qatar's Al-Sadd and scored twice at the 2006 World Cup, told . "This is the first time I've seen a player with these features. I think he has everything to become one of the most important players in world football."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Paez made his senior debut for Independiente del Valle, the same Ecuadorian club that produced Moises Caicedo, at the age of 15 and Chelsea had secured a pre-arranged transfer within five weeks of the young attacker turning 16. Following his 18th birhtday in May, Paez was finally old enough to move internationally and has been given the opportunity to develop on loan out of the Premier League spotlight at Chelsea's sister club, Strasbourg.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Paez made his senior international debut for Ecuador aged 16 in 2023 and is his country's youngest ever player. Across all of South America, only Argentina legend Diego Maradona has ever played international football at an earlier age.