Search underway to discover China's 'Messi'

The China-Argentina Football Cooperation Program, which has been gaining steam since the two countries signed an agreement in May last year, aims to seek out a Chinese version of Lionel Messi, the Argentine soccer superstar, according to an Argentine official with the program.

Pablo Diaz, executive secretary of the program, said in an interview with China Daily that Argentina is willing to share its soccer assets to help China realize its goal of becoming a world soccer power before 2050.

A group of 28 Chinese boys ranging in age from 14 to 16, along with three Chinese coaches, arrived in Buenos Aires last month, shortly before President Xi Jinping's visit to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in the Argentine capital and his state visit to the South American country, which concluded over the weekend.