Is he the new Messi? Spain’s prodigy player Lamine Yamal has already made history at Euro 2024, and is hoping to score a decisive goal in the match against England on Sunday.
The rise of Spain’s teenage football prodigy
Is he the new Messi? Spain's prodigy player Lamine Yamal has already made history at Euro 2024, and is hoping to score a decisive goal in the match against England on Sunday.
The photo is striking. A 20-year-old Messi, already being called the greatest footballer of all time, gazes smilingly into the eyes of the young baby he is gently cradling. It is 2007.1
It is as if he already knows who that baby will become. Less than 17 years later, the infant from that picture scored a historic goal against France in the Euro semi-finals, becoming the youngest man to score in the tournament's entire history.
"There will never be another like Messi," said Lamine Yamal in response to the countless questions about the similarities between himself and the towering Argentine superstar. But he may never escape the comparison.
Some say Yamal may even surpassBe greater than. his legendary idol. After all, Messi never won a major international tournament as a teenager. With Spain playing against England on Sunday, a victory could score Yamal another entry in the sporting history books.
The son of a painter and decorator, and a waitress, Lamine Yamal was scouted at six years of age by FC Barcelona before signing for La Masia, Barcelona's youth academy. "He seemed touched by a magic wand," said family friend and local footballer Inocente Diez.2
And Diez was not the only person who felt that way. After a scout came to watch one of Yamal's matches, he was quickly whisked away from his local club CF La Torrenta to FC Barcelona for training.
Since then, he has set record after record. He was the youngest player to play for Barca in a century. He was the youngest ever player in La Liga, and now he is the youngest player to ever score for Spain.
But he has not let it go to his head. His close friends and family describe Yamal as quiet, humble, mature and hard-working, and he has even been pictured doing his homework in between the intensive team training at Euro 2024.3
FC Barcelona supposedly rejected a world transfer record-breaking £210 million fee for the young prodigy before Euro 2024, calling him irreplaceable.4
Some say we should exercise caution when it comes to describing very young players. From Freddy Adu and John Bostock to Hachim Mastour and Bojan Krkic, numerous former teenage prodigies have failed to live up to the early hype.
Lionel Messi once claimed that he will only know the sum of his achievements after he has retired. A career cannot be measured before it has ended. Lamine Yamal is only just getting started.
Is he the new Messi?
Yes: Lamine Yamal is built in Messi's image. The fact that he met Messi by coincidence as a baby and went on to become his peer shows that his destiny is to be one of the greatest players of all time.
No: It is impossible to judge somebody's career when they are just 16. The remarkable thing about Messi is how long and consistent his career has been. We do not know if Yamal will maintain this standard, let alone improve.
Or... Yamal is not the new Messi and it makes no sense to compare them. He is his own player with a distinctive and unique style.
Surpass - Be greater than.
The rise of Spain’s teenage football prodigy

Glossary
Surpass - Be greater than.