His stats are better, but will Yamal build legacy to rival Messi?

Portraits of young genius are a part of the picture of greatness before greatness. The boy with the indie-band bangs celebrating on Ronaldinho’s back, the bleach-blonde teen with blaugrana braces leaving a trail of Inter defenders in his wake.

Lionel Messi’s first goal for Barcelona came on Wednesday, almost 20 years apart from Lamine Yamal’s sensational Champions League semi-final strike on his 100th appearance for the Catalan giants.

Yamal, a month younger than Messi was when he lobbed the goalkeeper from Ronaldinho’s scooped assist to become La Liga’s youngest scorer in 2005, has already won a European Championship with Spain and a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Super Cup with Barcelona.

Before his stunning individual performance against Inter, the forward said, “I don’t want to compare myself to the best player in football’s history,” but it’s only natural to speculate about how he can imitate Messi.

The stats show Yamal’s trajectory since his debut aged 15 years and 290 days is going up faster than either Messi or the other superstar of his generation, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yamal turned 18 just two months shy of the halfway mark in his Barcelona debut. By the same age, Messi had scored once in nine senior games for Barca while Ronaldo had netted five goals in 19 games for Sporting.

Yamal has 22 goals and 27 assists to his name, along with four more goals in his 19 appearances for Spain. Neither Messi or Ronaldo made their international debut until they turned 18.

Messi, who made his Barcelona debut at age 16, didn’t realize he had reached the milestone with a 41-goal scoring debut until shortly before his 21st birthday.

But they were the first of an incredible 672 for the club, to complement the eight Ballon d’Ors, one World Cup, two Copas America, four Champions Leagues and a huge haul of domestic silverware.

Messi was the 13-year-old boy who needed growth hormone therapy after being diagnosed with autism because he “said nothing to us for the first month” with team-mates at La Masia. Gerard Pique revealed that Messi was the same child who, according to Gerard Pique, “needed no growth hormone treatment.”

“Messi was always very cautious in the way he approached things – rivals, team-mates, managers – always very respectful”, explains Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.

He would be the one who gave those who came in, though. If they were from the lower ranks, he would protect them but push them.

Neymar received the message, “You are Brazilian, we know you enjoy expressing yourself well, but there are certain things you must do here to become a significant player for Barcelona.”

Yamal grew up around 20 miles along the coast from the Nou Camp between the city of Granollers, where his mother lived, and Mataro, where his father was. In the Mataro neighborhood of Rocafonda, he celebrates by entering the postcode 304 with his fingers.

Remarkably, there are pictures of baby Yamal being held by a 20-year-old Messi during a photoshoot for Barcelona and Unicef in 2007. That child was training with the club seven years later. By the age of 12, Spanish publication Marca were already comparing him to Messi.

Yamal was even brought to La Masia by Barcelona, where players from other countries typically get their rooms and taxis for local kids. Just over three years after moving in, Yamal made his debut against Real Betis.

Yamal has since purchased an apartment close to the training facility and since left the Barcelona residence.

” Lamine Yamal couldn’t have been more different to Lionel Messi, “says Balague”. He enjoyed making jokes in the changing rooms and expressing himself since he was a child.

“The fact his parents separated a long time ago and his mother has been the lighthouse in terms of values and behaviour, his father is almost more like a friend – that allowed a player like him to have the freedom to go beyond what is expected.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a good illustration of this; he had no references, believed he could fly, and was the best person in the world, and no one ever told him to “no, you have to go to university, etc.”

Balague describes Yamal as” completely fearless”, which came across in Yamal’s first news conference before last week’s 3-3 Champions League semi-final first-leg draw with Inter.

Before responding to those who criticized his celebrations following Barca’s Copa del Rey victory against Real Madrid last month, Yamal said, “I left all my fears in the park of my neighbourhood.” While I keep winning, they can’t say much. “

“I’ve never heard that,” says Balague. It is very much like Cristiano Ronaldo behaviour – thinking ‘ I am the best, so it is not a problem’. But there are many ways that he can still be a child.

Balague says when the electricity went down in Spain last week, Yamal, Gavi and Fermin Lopez took the opportunity to stroll around town with their hoodies on, before they were spotted.

The late Kobe Bryant once told a story about Ronaldinho introducing him to a player he said would be the greatest of all time”. What are you? You are the best, “replied the basketball star”. No, Ronaldinho remarked. This kid here is going to be the best. “

Even though Messi was 17 years old, those around him already knew that a star was in his sight.

He joined a squad containing World Cup winners Ronaldinho, Juliano Belletti and Edmilson, stars such as Samuel Eto’o and Deco, and homegrown gems Carles Puyol, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes and Xavi.

Barcelona’s first victory in Europe’s elite competition since 1992 came in the form of La Liga and the Champions League, despite Messi’s injury-related absence from the final.

” We won the Champions League and La Liga with Ronaldinho in his prime, “says Van Bommel”. He was able to do everything on his own because of his level. We could just defend and let him inspire the attack, we knew we would win every game. “

It’s difficult to compare players from different eras, of course. Yamal has emerged at a different Barcelona, where the club’s financial situation has prompted them to turn again to their esteemed youth system.

Yamal made his first start after Ousmane Dembele left for Paris St-Germain and Raphinha was suspended for the second game of the previous season. Now he is the star.

Yamal has scored five goals in the Champions League this season, and his 44 shots and 78 dribbles rank among the most records for a teenager in a campaign.

The earliest such data available on Messi is from 2006-07, when he was 19 and made 21 dribbles at a rate of 4.9 per 90 minutes, compared to Yamal’s 7.2 this term. However, Messi’s performance at Barcelona fell just three times between his first and last seasons’ averages in Europe.

Messi missed a chunk of that 2006-07 season with a metatarsal fracture but still clocked up 26 La Liga appearances, scoring 14 goals with a shot conversion rate of 23% and creating 38 chances, which led to two assists.

Yamal, who is two years younger, has played in 31 league games this season, has six goals, has 12 assists, and has 57 chances in his absence, but he has converted for 5% and has almost twice as many shots as Messi.

” What we are seeing from Lamine Yamal is extraordinary and the impact it has had in world football is completely out of the ordinary and unexpected, “says Balague.

That is a question only time can answer.

We must say that, in the present, he is ahead of Messi, Balague says. But to be 15 years right at the top, influencing every final he played, that is something that requires a lot of consistency, luck and a strong mentality for when things go wrong.

“Everything is going well right now, and Lamine’s impact is the best. He makes us eager to watch Barcelona and look forward to seeing him.” He lifts us from our seats, makes us shout and scream when he does something”.

Moral can recall seeing Yamal decide the youth cup finals, including the one against Real Madrid that he personally won. Now he is doing it on the grandest stage.

Who expects a 16-year-old boy to play in the first division, the second division, and the Euros in the summer, just like he did the other day? he says.

“This kid is unbelievable,” he says. Honestly, I don’t know where his top is, but we are in front of one of the greatest players in the future, I am sure.

Van Bommel says Barcelona’s 2006 Champions League success” was the beginning of the Messi era”, one built around La Masia talent with Messi at its fore. Yamal may now have a chance to instigate the most recent generation of young stars into a new dynasty.

It’s what Moral and others who coached at La Masia have been waiting to see come to fruition.

We assured ourselves that it would never occur again. And look, 10 years later, we are in the same situation, “he beams, recalling watching Yamal, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Pau Cubarsi, and says there are more to come.

You experience something special as a coach when they touch the ball. Lamine, pfft, if one player at 12 years old has the capacity to make you crazy in training, it’s like ‘ wow! ‘

Barcelona is making a lot of money: they invest in La Masia, players, and highly skilled coaches. Now it is normal to see players of 16, 17, 18 years old, which is unbelievable.

“Xavi was either 26 or 27 years old when he was at the top level.” These guys are 17 or 18 years old so imagine in 10 years where they can arrive? “

The 17-year-old Yamal is the star of this generation, a world-bester.

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