Barcelona sign seven-year-old Romano

A seven-year-old British boy is dreaming of becoming the next Lionel Messi after being snapped up by Barcelona's famous academy.

Enzo Romano, from Cardiff, is set to move to Catalonia in July after completing his Year Two studies at Albany Primary School.

He will join icons of the game including Messi, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta to be coached at the club's FCB Escola.

 Wales Online reports it's aimed at boys and girls between six and 18 years old, with the aim of educating and training young talent to follow in the footsteps of the sport's biggest stars.

Enzo's dad, Antonio, moved to Cardiff in 2005 from Italy and met his wife, Awilda, 28, who moved to the city from Spain in 2007.

The seven-year-old starlet has been playing football at his local Penylan Community Centre since he was four-years-old.

He trained three-times-a-week after school for a year 18 months and immediately caught the eye of coaches.

Angharad James, who runs the local football club and trained Enzo at the community centre, said: "He's definitely got talent. He's the youngest I have ever seen with talent like that."

Enzo was approached by Cardiff City and Swansea City when he was six and trained with the club's under-nine sides.

But his incredible break came while on holiday in Barcelona with his family.

Enzo played in a friendly football match, where his parents were told about Escola.

The following year, Enzo attended trials there, which are world-renowned and extremely competitive.

Over 1,000 children took part in the first stage of the trial.