A Closer Look At Manchester United And Chelsea's EIGHT-Year-Old Target Dubbed 'The Next Messi'

When I was eight years old, football was about the entire team rushing to the ball in order to get a touch to impress the proud parents on the touchline. A lot of the time it was one-touch football, merely because none of us had the technical facility, or in fact an awareness of what we were doing, and it was all kick and rush. Bad coaching, perhaps, or just the fact that were only eight. However, astonishingly, the Mirror are reporting that Chelsea and Manchester United are fighting for the signature of Claudio Gabriel Nancufil, who at just eight years of age is being likened to Lionel Messi.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are also said to be watching the youngster's progression, but how could can an 8-year-old really be?

Incredible, is the answer. Unfazed by the fact that his shorts are in fact longer than his legs, little Nancufil, who is nicknamed Snow Messi, has the ability to run at players using both feet to control the ball. He's intelligent with his play, also, as he often lures opposing children into his path before spinning off them or pulling out a silky trick and leaving them all in his wake.

He knows where the goal is, too, as you can see by the clip below. It blows my mind that someone so young can be so good and I can certainly see where the Messi comparisons have come from, ignoring the fact that he hails from Argentina.

Enough talk, watch this clip and see for yourself how amazing his footwork is.