2 weeks ago
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Liverpool's teenage talent, Rio Ngumoha, has enjoyed quite the summer so far. Under Arne Slot, he has been handed a starring role in preseason and has taken it with two hands.
On the pitch, it is clear that Ngumoha does not lack confidence. He tore the experienced Fikayo Tomori apart against AC Milan and then scored a great goal in Japan against Yokohama Marinos.
Off the field, Ngumoha is a relatively reserved character. But he has previously made no secret of his ultimate ambition in soccer: to go right to the top of the game and win the Ballon d'Or.
Signed from Chelsea in 2024, Ngumoha appeared on Lovell Soccer’s Inside The Academy series a few months later.
"I truly believe I can win the Ballon d'Or one day," he said. "I want to be regarded as one of the best players to ever play football and be a legend of the game.
"The love for football started when I was four or five. I was watching my brother, and I wanted to be like him. I was going to academies from a young age and it was a big thing when so many clubs wanted to sign me.
"I have learned you have to be resilient and believe in yourself. You can have a few bad games, but you have to have that belief that you are the best. For me, if I am in bad form, I just put it behind me and work hard."
That work appears to be paying off so far. Ngumoha had a strong first campaign at academy level and made his first senior start in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley.
Now, he looks in a good position to push for more minutes when the new season kicks off. Turning 17 next month, he really looks to have matured and taken the next step in his development.
Ngumoha is not the only player to have made no bones about his desire to win the Ballon d'Or. Former Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold did likewise before he signed for Real Madrid.
"I believe I can win the Ballon d'Or," Alexander-Arnold outlined last October. "I want to be the first full-back to ever do it. It’s only the morning after you retire that you’re able to look in the mirror and say: 'I gave it everything I got'."
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Arne Slot has been impressed with Ngumoha so far this summer but the Liverpool boss also warned that there is still plenty of development for the youngster.
"Rio again showed the quality he has, and that's nice for us because we have a lot of very good players," Slot said after his side beat Yokohama Marinos this week.
"It's always nice to see young players from 16, 17 or 18 years old already impacting a game. If you are 16 and you can impact the game like he did, that's definitely worth a compliment."
Liverpool.com says: Ngumoha looks to have all the skills required to go a long way in the game. With Luis Diaz having moved on, he should be eyeing up plenty of minutes in the next few months.
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