FC Barcelona player Lamine Yamal is praised as one of the largest football players in the world at such a young age, but it seems that the star does not want to be compared to one of his idols
At the age of 17, FC Barcelona Footballer Lamine Yamal is compared to the biggest players in the world, but it seems that the teenager now asks people to stop comparing him with Messi. This is why.
During the match against Inter Milan on April 30, his 100th game with the club, the football star, marked the youngest player ever scored in a semi -final of the Champions League, previously held by Kylian Mbappé. As reported by Radio Times, the football star scored 15 goals and 24 recorded assists in 49 games in all matches in the 2024/2025 seasons for FC Barcelona.
Recently after he won the Copa del Rey title 2025 against Real Madrid (3-2) on 26 April, the player and his teammates were defeated on 6 May by Inter Milan, with a final score of 7-6, while they fought for a place in the Champions League final. After the game in the first legs against Inter Milan (3-3) on April 30, fighting for the place in the final for the Champions League, Lamine sat down to speak with the media.
The player celebrated a milestone with the football team, the player marked two years since he came to the club. A product of La Masia, the youth academy of Barcelona who prepares aspiring professional football players, was signed by the team at the age of 15. Since then, Lamine has become the subject of conversation, mainly because of his talent on the field.
Lionel Messi is one of the greatest football players in history. From April 2025 he scored a total of 859 goals in 1,091 performances. At the age of 37 he played for FC Barcelona, ​​Paris Saint-Germain, and currently for Inter Miami, as well as the national team of Argentina.
When he was asked about Messi, Lamine said to the reporters: “I don't want to compare myself with someone, and even less with Messi. That is something that I leave to you.”
He added: “I admire Messi a lot, so I don't want to compare myself with the best player in the history of football. I still haven't talked to him personally.” Compared to Lamine, Messi was 17 years old when he made his professional debut for the Senior Team of FC Barcelona.
Funnily enough, Lamine was depicted with Messi as a baby, as part of a charity photo shoot in December 2007. Fast Vooruit to 2025, Lamine now rocks the number 19, which was to Messi from 2006 to 2008, before switching to the iconic number 10.
During an interview with SIMPLEMENT Fútbol, ​​Messi had a few things to say about the new generation of football players: “Children watch and imitate everything, they know everyone and follow everyone, the players they are talking about are Mbappé, Vini Junior, Haaland, Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal.”
The Argentinian star was impressed by Lamine's career and what he had already achieved at a young age. He added: “He is already a European champion in Spain. He is only 17, in the middle of a growth process, and will continue to grow and contribute, just as I did.” Messi did not hesitate to call him 'one of the best players in the world'.
Nevertheless, Messi does not seem to be the only one who is impressed by Lamine's skills at such a young age. During the match against Inter Milan on April 30, coach Simone Inzaghi spoke very much about him, after he managed to score a goal.
Lamine's skills let the defenders of Inter effort to remove the ball from him. He told Prime Video: “I have never seen a player as Lamine Yamal for the past 8-9 years. We had to put three on him, and of course the spaces opened elsewhere.”
Lamine is a star to pay attention to, with a prosperous future with many more milestones and titles to reach. After he has already won the Kopa trophy of 2024 as the best male player under the age of 21, it would not be a surprise if he was the next balloon d'Or Titlehouder, one of the most prestigious prizes in football.
The annual award is given to the best male football player in the world, as voted by a panel of journalists. From Lamine, his performance and excellent skills suggest, while he is still not understood that he could potentially be a balloon d'Or in the future.