There is a lot of hype around the latest RC Strasbourg as a recruit, praised as the next large South -American superstar.
On Thursday, the Elzas club officially signed Kendry Paéz (18) on loan from Chelsea for the entire 2025-26 Ligue 1 campaign.
The international of Ecuador, who was named the most excellent player at the Next Generation Tournament 2022 in Austria, has already made 18 performances for his senior national team and scored two goals.
A World Cup -hero for Ecuador at the 2006 World Cup in Germany believes that the South -American sensation has all the tools to be even better than some of the best players who have ever seen the wonderful game.
“He has everything to be better than Leo Messi, better than Neymar, but it depends on him and his entourage,” Carlos Tenorio told L'équipe after the young person had officially reached Strasbourg.
“This is the first time I have seen a player with these functions. I think he has everything to become one of the most important players in world football,” Tenorio added.
Tenorio played a major role in the Run from Ecuador to the last 16 of the 06 World Cup and scored the winning goals in their opening of two group luminaires against Poland (2-0) and Costa Rica (3-0). To date, it is their best finish ever at a World Cup.
Paez has been running heads since he was just a child and came to the youth department of Barcelona, Academia Alfaro Moreno, when he was five, the Barcelona of Ecuador and not the famous in Spain.
Eventually he would move to Ecuadorian Giants Independente del Valle, who played in their youth team from 12th age, before he was finally integrated into the Senior Squadron in 2023.
He would score a combined 12 goals in two Ecuadorian Series A seasons. For more than two years he knew that he would move to the Premier League and join Chelsea on his 18th birthday in June.
He is also compared to former World Cup Golden Boot -winner James Rodriguez (34), who is strong with both feet, with a lot of dribbling and speed.
In September 2023 he became the youngest Ecuadorian who came up for his country at the age of 16, and the second-jongest South American who appears in a senior competition after the late Diego Maradona.
He would set his first international goal in the 2-1 victory of Ecuador in Bolivia in October 2023, making him the youngest goal scorer in the qualifying history of Conmebol World Cup on 16 years and 161 days.
GFFN | Joel Lefevre