At only 17 years old, Lamine Yamal has become one of the most important players for Barcelona and Spain. Due to his talent, he has been compared with Lionel Messi, especially as they both grew up in La Masia. However, Raphinha thinks the 17-year-old winger has more similarities with Neymar, instead of the Argentine.
“I see him more like Neymar – the dribbling, how fast he thinks to dribble. When you think you can steal the ball from him, he does something you’ve never seen in your life,” he told El Pais about his teammate.
However, Yamal’s stats are still very similar (even better) to Messi’s, when he was also starting at Barcelona. For example, in his first 50 matches in LaLiga, Yamal has 24 direct goal contributions, just one away from Messi.
This season, Yamal has scored six goals and provided eight assists in 15 games with the Catalans. But, apart from numbers, Yamal’s understanding of the game and his ability to find narrow spaces has definitely set him apart from his contemporaries.
Thanks to his achievements at such a young age, including already being a Euros champion, Yamal recently won the Kopa Trophy for being the best player under 21 years old. He joins Pedri (2021) and Gavi (2022) as the latest Barcelona star to win the award. He is also the youngest player to win the award.
Yamal has responded to Lionel Messi comparisons
“For me, the most important thing is to leave a legacy, to have your career,” Yamal told to France Football about the Messi comparisons. “In the end, being compared to Leo is more important than not looking at it,” he added.
“It is true that if you are compared to the best player in history it is because you are doing things well. It doesn’t bother me, obviously, but I try to always be myself,” he added, ahead of the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Lamine Yamal’s records
His impressive list of records includes being the youngest-ever goalscorer for Barcelona, La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup. He is also the second-youngest scorer in the UCL. Most recently, he became the youngest player to score in the history of El Clasico at the age of 17 years and 105 days.