Lamine Yamal is already better than Lionel Messi was at this age.
That’s the view of Barcelona legend Ronald De Boer who believes that the teenager could go on to eclipse Messi’s heroics.
Yamal is already the top young star in world football after an electric start to life at the Nou Camp.
A product of the La Masia academy, the 17-year-old has already made 100 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 22 goals and providing 33 assists.
Having already helped his club to the LaLiga title last term and the Copa Del Rey, Yamal will be hoping to inspire Barcelona to a treble this term following their thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Playing against one of the toughest sides in European football, Yamal broke two records and got himself on the scoresheet against the Italian giants to once again prove that he’s capable of shining on the biggest stage.
According to De Boer, there’s no limit to his talents and says that he’s turned Barcelona back into a must-watch team.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, De Boer said: “Lots has been said before but the main topic is that he’s such a young boy performing at that age and he’s already got 100 games under his belt.
“Even at the Euros he was one of the best – maybe the star of the Spanish team along with Nico Williams – and to be so vital for the Spanish team and also Barcelona like he was against Inter.
“Everything came from the right side – he was against Federico DiMarco who is a great, experienced player and he must have thought ‘what the hell is happening here’.
“We love watching football again. There was a time when Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and all of those guys were playing when you were almost afraid of missing Barcelona when they were playing. You were scared to go to the toilet because maybe something happens, something beautiful and now you have that again.
“There were periods with Barcelona where you thought ‘maybe I’ll skip this one’ but not now.
“All of the youngsters in midfield with Pedri and Yamal at that age, it’s incredible.
“They’ve got an unbelievable amount of young players coming through and it’s a signal for a lot of other clubs not to be afraid to use the young, especially with top clubs like Ajax.
“There was a time when someone got injured that you’d go abroad but now the money’s not there like with Barcelona and you think ‘okay we’ll do it with our youngsters’ and of course memories come back with Messi.”
The similarities between Yamal and Messi are clear for all to see with Messi also a left-footed forward who graduated from the La Masia academy.
The Argentine made his debut in October 2004 at the age of 17 and instantly became a star – scoring 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona.
While Yamal has just reached 100 matches for the Catalan giants, De Boer believes that the Spanish winger is already ahead of Messi in terms of what he’s achieved at just 17 years of age.
Stats at 17…
Cristiano Ronaldo
Appearances: 19
Goals: 5
Assists: 4
Lionel Messi
Appearances: 9
Goals: 1
Assists: 0
Lamine Yamal
Appearances: 100
Goals: 22
Assists: 33
He said: “I got a message from Henk ten Cate who was the assistant coach at Barcelona under Frank Rijkaard when Messi made his debut against Espanyol and he said that Yamal is further than Messi at this age.
“Messi started really when he was 21 or something so at this age, he’s better than Messi when he was 16, 17 or 18 so that says something.
“For me, the only difference is the consistency. Messi stayed on for 10, 12, 13 years at an unbelievable level – can Yamal do that? Can he keep the hunger? Can he stay fit? Can he keep both feet on the ground?
“People are already saying because he dyed his hair – I don’t know him as a person but let him do what he wants.
“He seems like a very humble guy but he’s not afraid to take the ball. If he loses it he’s not afraid to get the ball and try again but he’s mature in that sense.
“If you lose the ball every time then the coach will think that it’s time to change, but he’s a real fit in almost every game so on that stage at this age he’s further than Messi but in the long run Messi is still number one.”
As it stands Barcelona are four points clear at the top of LaLiga with five matches remaining, meaning that the prospect of retaining their title is very much a reality.
Should they be able to see off Inter at the San Siro, Yamal will be firmly on track to secure a historic treble – not bad for a 17-year-old with his entire career ahead of him.
