INA - SOURCES
Lionel Messi already knows who could carry on his legacy once the time for his retirement arrives. During an event organized by Adidas, the World Cup champion publicly praised Lamine Yamal and stated that he is the player who reminds him the most of himself because of his playing style and game-changing ability.
The Argentine star spoke about the new generation of talent emerging in world soccer, but he had no doubts when pointing to the young Barcelona player as the most special of them all.
“There is a new generation of footballers that is very good… but if I have to choose one, because of his age and the future he can have, it is Lamine Yamal. There is no doubt, for me, he is the best. He reminds me of myself when I was young,” said Messi.
The words of Messi only confirm the enormous impact that Lamine Yamal is having in European soccer. Despite his young age, the Spanish winger is already considered one of the best young players on the planet and has shown unusual maturity to compete at the highest level.
The Barcelona star has already won the Kopa Trophy twice and was also crowned European champion with Spain. With the Catalan club, he has accumulated 154 official matches and 49 goals, impressive numbers for a player who is still developing.
But beyond his statistics, what truly stands out is the number of records he has broken in such a short time. Lamine Yamal is the youngest player to debut in LaLiga, the youngest scorer in the competition, the youngest starter in the UEFA Champions League, and the youngest goal scorer in the history of El Clásico.
He also became the youngest player to reach 50 and 100 official matches with Barcelona, in addition to being the youngest footballer to score a hat-trick for the club.
