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.

Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool celebrating after scoring Liverpool's third goal against Yokohama F.

	Arne Slot happy to have Rio Ngumoha’s “energy” – but still has “learning points”	Yokohama FM 1-2 Liverpool LIVE: Rio Ngumoha, Nyoni and Wirtz goals, score updates, TV channel and stream

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.

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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
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