Lamine Yamal does not want to be the new Lionel Messi. The 17-year-old Spanish international (14 caps, 3 goals) spoke about the connections made between him and the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner. Comparisons that flatter him, but on which he does not focus too much. “I try not to think too much about comparisons, to always be myself. As I tell my friends, for me, the most important thing is to leave my mark on football, to have a great career. Afterwards, I tell myself that if I am compared to the best player in history, it is because I am doing things correctly. It does not bother me, but I focus on myself.” revealed Yamal, in the columns of France Football.
Comparisons are nevertheless quite easy to make between the two players. Left-handed players playing on the right wing at Barcelona, and being phenomena of precocity, whether at club or national team, Messi and Yamal have a lot in common, even in their choice of numbers. Indeed, Lamine Yamal now wears the 19 with FC Barcelona, a number that belonged to a certain Lionel Messi during his first seasons in Catalonia.
