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Chelsea starlet Kendry Paez has claimed that he does not want to be the Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi of Ecuador and will rather forge his own path.
Currently playing for Independiente del Valle, the teenage sensation is considered one of the best talents to come out of Ecuador. Earlier in June, Chelsea confirmed that they had signed the 16-year-old attacking midfielder and that he would move to Stamford Bridge when he turns 18 in 2025.
According to GOAL, the Blues have paid a hefty €20 million fee to sign him ahead of German giants Borussia Dortmund.
As is natural with up-and-coming footballers, Paez has also been compared to the greatest players of this generation, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He, however, has played the comparisons down, claiming that he wants to continue being himself and make his own name.
Speaking to ESPN Deportes, he said (via @AlbicelesteTalk):
“Messi of Ecuador? Ronaldo of Ecuador? Maradona of Ecuador? I’m Kendry, I’m going to give the name to Ecuador. I’m going to continue being me.”
He then went on to dub Lionel Messi the greatest player of all time, claiming that comparisons with the Barcelona legend did not make sense.
Paez added:
“They can’t compare me to Messi. Messi who is something very very special, he is the best, you can’t compare me to him.”
Lastly, he talked about playing for Chelsea, adding that it would be special to share the dressing room with Lionel Messi’s compatriot and Blues star Enzo Fernandez.
“To get there (Chelsea) well, I have to keep working, be focused on studying. It will be something special to share things with players like Enzo,” Paez added.
Paez recently dazzled for Ecuador in the U-20 World Cup in Argentina. Opening the scoring in a 9-0 routing of Fiji in Ecuador’s final group-stage encounter, Paez, aged 16 years and 22 days, became the youngest-ever scorer in the competition’s history.
Who is Chelsea’s new youngster Kendry Paez?
Under the ownership of Todd Boehly, Chelsea have been unabashedly going after young promising players, no matter the price. Kendry Paez is the latest and youngest addition to that list.
Zipping past Independiente’s U-17 and U-19 sides, Paez broke into the first team at the age of 15, becoming the youngest-ever player to do so for the team. The gifted attacking midfielder scored on his Ecuadorian Serie A debut in February, propelling his team to a 3-1 victory over Mushuc Runa. He became the youngest debutant as well as the goalscorer in the league’s history.
Paez possesses all the must-have attributes of an effective attacking midfielder. He reads the game well, has a knack for sliding into little pockets of space, and can whip in accurate deliveries into the box with his left boot. To top it off, he already knows how to add just the right amount of weight to his passes, which is a skill that requires years to master.
With the right guidance and plenty of patience, Paez could very well become one of the players to watch in the Premier League.
