Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, and the iconic Barcelona star, but Lamine Yamal is the closest we have seen to him at the Camp Nou.
The 18-year-old is already one of the best in the world — an insane talent. He is expected to be the face of Barcelona for the next ten years, and so the comparisons with Messi are inevitable.
Xavi Hernandez, a Barca legend himself, sees the similarities between the two players. However, he does worry about the unnecessary pressure that comes with being held up next to a once-in-a-lifetime player like Messi.
Yamal, though, is taking it in his stride.
Xavi says Lamine Yamal knows he is in Messi’s shadow, and doesn’t care
Xavi gave the teenager his debut when he was calling the shots at the Camp Nou. He was just 15.
That faith has been repaid tenfold, with Yamal playing a key role in the two La Liga titles Barcelona have won in back-to-back seasons. For Spain, too, he is maybe their biggest attacking weapon.
As a left-footed right-winger with the kind of technical ability that leaves fans speechless, the Messi comparison was always going to come. Xavi wrote a feature for The Athletic where he discussed this very subject.
He wrote: “There are many similarities with Leo. But I don’t think we’re doing the boy any favours by comparing him to the greatest of all time — it puts extra pressure on him.
“Even so, I don’t think he minds. That’s why I was saying he has a very strong personality, because he doesn’t care. He wants the ball. He wants to play football. He enjoys it. He has a good time and has fun with the ball at his feet.”
Yamal’s mentality has never been questioned. You don’t start for one of the biggest clubs in the world, before even finishing school, without a crazy level of confidence.
Xavi then talked about the stamp of approval Messi has given Yamal. He acknowledges that their styles of play aren’t necessarily the same, but they have the same intangibles required to reach the superstar level.
As he puts it: “I would compare them in terms of personality — in that they know they’re the best, and that’s very important.
“Lamine knows he’s different. You can tell when you watch him and are around him. Just as Leo knew he was different. He had the ability to define a match, and Lamine has that, too.”
Yamal is on his own path, but as Xavi points out, having Messi’s legend to aim for is more likely to drive him on than make him crumble.
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