Giovanna Waksman

Giovanna Waksman is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for OL Lyonnes in the French Première Ligue. She signed her first professional contract with the club in March 2026 at age 17, joining one of the most successful women's sides in Europe.

She is also a Brazil youth international, having represented her country at the U-14, U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels. At the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup she scored the tournament's Goal of the Tournament, a moment FIFA's own channels promoted heavily.

Her profile grew sharply in October 2026 when Lionel Messi named her among football's next 10 superstars. For a teenager who only left high school soccer a year earlier, the attention is enormous, and she is now one of the most closely watched young midfielders in the women's game. [edit]

Waksman grew up in Rio de Janeiro, where her technical gift stood out early. Brazil's youth setup noticed quickly: she earned call-ups to the U-14 and U-15 teams, and by 14 she was training with the U-20 squad, an age jump that raised eyebrows even in a country used to prodigies.

At 13, in 2022, she left Brazil for Florida to join a private academy and enrolled at The Pine School in Hobe Sound. The move was unusual for a Brazilian girl that young, and it put her in a completely different soccer culture. She adapted fast. In the 2022/23 season she set Pine School records with 53 goals and 115 points, numbers that made her a local name in Treasure Coast high school soccer.

Local coverage in January 2025 described her as Pine soccer's star Brazilian national team prospect, taking Florida by storm. She kept climbing: top-three ranking in Florida Class 2A in March 2025, then the Gatorade Florida Girls Soccer Player of the Year award in June 2025, then a spot on TopDrawerSoccer's Spring High School Girls Best XI in July. By the time European scouts came calling, she had already done the hard part, proving she could dominate in a system far from home. [edit]

The breakthrough arrived on 10 March 2026, when OL Lyonnes announced her signing. Lyon is a powerhouse in French and European women's football, and bringing in a 17-year-old Brazilian midfielder signaled real belief in her ceiling. She arrived with a technical profile shaped in Brazil and refined in the U.S. academy system, known for close control and the ability to set tempo.

Her international résumé had already built the case. She featured at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2025, where FIFA's channels highlighted her as shining bright, and her goal was later crowned the tournament's Goal of the Tournament. That award put her name in front of a global audience beyond youth-soccer circles.

Then came October 2026 and the Messi endorsement. Lionel Messi named her among football's next 10 superstars, alongside a Boca Juniors wonderkid, and the story went viral. Coverage framed her as the Brazilian chosen by Messi. For a player who had not yet turned 18, it was a massive external validation and a sign that the wider football world is watching her development at Lyon closely. [edit]

Media frame Waksman as a teenage Brazilian prodigy, and the labels are consistent: rising Brazilian starlet, star Brazilian national team prospect. Her social media presence is polished and sponsor-conscious, with club and adidas tags and agency contact details front and center. That professionalism at 17 stands out.

On the field, her image is technical and composed. She is described as a midfielder who dictates tempo with close control, a style honed in Brazil and sharpened in the U.S. academy system. Off the field, she keeps a low profile, letting her play and the occasional viral moment do the talking. [edit]

Fame data for Waksman has not yet been gathered by iFANN, so there is no published ranking to point to as of October 2026. She is not on the September 2026 iFAMOUS Rankings flagship list either. That is normal for a player who only signed her first professional contract in March 2026, and her visibility is rising fast after the Messi endorsement.

Her fanbase has no formal name or organized structure yet. Followers gather on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, where her channel sits around 2.4K subscribers with 95 videos. FIFA's promotion of her U-17 World Cup highlights brought a wave of new eyes, but there are no documented fan campaigns, billboards or charity drives. For now, her audience is young, growing and mostly interested in following a prodigy's first professional steps. [edit]

She carries both Brazilian and Polish flags in her social media bio, a nod to dual heritage. Her Instagram bio tags her club, her adidas football deal and her agency, REM Sports, and it is one of the few places her own voice comes through directly.

The story fans retell first is the Messi anointment. In October 2026, Messi publicly listed her among football's next 10 superstars, and the clip and articles spread fast. It is the kind of endorsement that changes how scouts and fans talk about a teenager.

Another favorite: she was called into Brazil's U-20 squad at just 14. That age jump is the detail that makes people sit up, a reminder that her rise was not gradual. Add the 53-goal high-school season at The Pine School, and you have a backstory that reads like fiction. [edit]

Details about Waksman's family are kept largely private. Her Instagram bio references @rj.waksman, a family account, suggesting a close-knit support system behind her move abroad at 13. Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, she was part of a household that backed an unusually early leap to the United States for soccer, a decision that shaped everything that followed.

She now lives in France after signing with OL Lyonnes in March 2026, adjusting to life as a young professional far from both Brazil and Florida. No public information exists about siblings, parents' names or her current household setup. At 17, she is focused on football and settling into Lyon. [edit]

Waksman's most high-profile association is with Lionel Messi, who named her among football's next 10 superstars in October 2026. She plays for OL Lyonnes, the women's section of Olympique Lyonnais, and is endorsed by adidas. Her representation is handled by REM Sports, listed in her Instagram bio. [edit]

No public romantic relationships are documented for Waksman. She is 17 and has kept her personal life private, with no credible reports of dating, engagements or partnerships. As of 2026, she is single and focused on her football career at OL Lyonnes. [edit]

At 17, Waksman is at the very start of her earning curve. Her income comes from her OL Lyonnes professional contract, signed in March 2026, and an adidas football endorsement visible in her Instagram bio. She is represented by REM Sports. No public salary figures exist for her Lyon deal, and celebrity net-worth trackers have not published estimates for her.

iFANN's editorial team puts her current net worth at roughly $1 million, a figure that reflects early professional earnings and endorsement potential rather than accumulated wealth. Expect that number to move quickly if she breaks into Lyon's first team and earns a senior Brazil call-up. For now, her financial story is one of promise, not portfolio. [edit]

Waksman's trophy case is young but notable. She won the Gatorade Florida Girls Soccer Player of the Year in 2025 and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Goal of the Tournament the same year. She was also named to TopDrawerSoccer's Spring High School Girls Best XI in 2025. [edit]