Lamine Yamal has experienced a meteoric rise over the past several months, becoming Barcelona’s most influential player and a serious Ballon d’Or contender. In that context, Pep Guardiola addressed the Spanish winger and the comparisons to Lionel Messi.
During a recent interview with DAZN, Guardiola was asked about Yamal and did not hesitate to praise him, placing special emphasis on his ability to read the flow of a match. “It’s surprising what everyone says, and it’s true: this kind of maturity usually comes at 24 or 25 years old,” the coach began.
“Sometimes it feels like a player with that much talent has to go all-in on every play, like every play has to be a three-pointer like (Stephen) Curry. No,” Pep explained. “He comes in and plays one-touch. ‘Now I rest for three minutes.’ Then he’s back, another one-touch. ‘Now I take a short dribble and pass it again. Now I’m going to win the game.’ That way of understanding the game is truly astonishing.”
Guardiola then spoke about how important it is for Barcelona to have a young player of Yamal’s caliber, especially just a few years after losing Messi. “The truth is that we’re very lucky Barça has found a kid with this kind of outlook… I’m not going to say like Leo,” Guardiola paused before reflecting.
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona
“I’m so sorry but Leo… for me there will be no one, no one, no one in the world like the Argentine,” said Guardiola, who coached Messi between 2008 and 2012 during that legendary era that produced two Champions League titles. “It’s impossible.”
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Guardiola witnessed Messi’s prime firsthand
Guardiola’s admiration for Lionel Messi is more than justified, given the path they shared early in their careers as coach and player. When Pep was appointed head coach of Barcelona in 2008, in what was his first experience at the elite level, one of his first moves was to part ways with Ronaldinho, who was then the team’s superstar, and hand the number 10 jersey to Leo, who at the time was just 21 years old.
That decision proved to be spot-on: by the end of that season, Barcelona had secured the treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League), and Messi won his first Ballon d’Or. Over the next three years, they continued to add trophies, ending their run together with 14 titles.
What was Messi doing at Yamal’s age?
Lamine Yamal will turn 18 on July 13, a remarkable fact considering he has already spent two full seasons as a regular part of Barcelona’s first team. At that same age, Messi’s career was far less developed: the forward was in his first professional season and had scored just one goal in nine appearances. He had also yet to debut for the Argentina national team.
By contrast, Yamal already has 106 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions, with 25 goals and 29 assists. In that time, he has played a key role in winning a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, and a Spanish Super Cup. He has also featured in 20 matches for the Spanish national team, scoring six goals and providing eight assists, and was a decisive figure in their Euro 2024 title run.
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