Youngsters picked to train at Barca academy

Three Chinese youngsters are getting a chance to follow in the footsteps of Lionel Messi after Barcelona officials hand-picked them to train at the Spanish giant's famous La Masia youth academy, organizers said on Wednesday.

Two 8-year-olds and a 10-year-old were plucked from more than 1,000 kids who attended the first Barcelona training camps at Mission Hills Haikou resort on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

They will now go for more training at the Barcelona academy that produced the likes of Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and a long list of other internationals.