Lamine Yamal's phenomenon in soccer has led the promising young player to be compared to great figures and legends of the sport, including Lionel Messi. Their sporting careers began at the same club, Barcelona, and they have shown great talent from an early age. The 18-year-old often says that the Argentine captain is his idol. However, a former player doesn't believe he can achieve Leo's career. Lamine ignites the build-up to Chelsea with another message on social mediaX Yamal lacks something that CR7 and Messi have Lamine joined Barça at the age of seven, training at La Masia, and made his debut with the team at 15 years, 9 months, and 16 days on April 29, 2023, against Real Betis, a match that Barcelona won 4-0. He became the youngest player to debut for the club in LaLiga and has won several awards: two LaLiga titles, one Spanish Super Cup, and one Copa del Rey. He was also named the best young player at Euro 2024. He currently has a total of 37 goals and 48 assists, combining his performances with Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Despite this, former French footballer Louis Saha does not believe that Yamal is on par with former Barça captain Lionel Messi: "Could Lamine Yamal one day overtake Messi? It would be good for him, but I don't think so. I doubt that he can achieve that because I see Lamine Yamal's quality as a player, but I don't see an obsession where you really focus on your football that Cristiano Ronaldo also has," said the former Premier League striker in an interview with OLBG. During the chat, Louis Saha compared Yamal to Brazilian star Neymar Jr.: "These guys are absolutely insanely obsessed. Some distractions are already around Yamal, that's not good. I think you'll find him dragged away from the game like Neymar, who has, for me, maybe better quality." On the other hand, both Cristiano and Lionel praised the young Barcelona star's talent at the Adidas event in Germany last year. Leo said that Yamal "is the present and without a doubt has a huge future," while the Portuguese captain commented that he sees great talent in him and that "he will be one of the best in this generation, for sure." Meanwhile, Yamal and Barcelona, coming off a 3-0 loss to Chelsea, will face Alavés on Saturday, November 29, at Spotify Camp Nou.
