A teen with no desire to be Messi: How Lamine Yamal is forging own path

By Guillem Balague BBC Sport Columnist Published 22 minutes ago Lionel Messi is in no doubt. Asked at a World Cup advertisement launch to name the best player of the new generation he said: "It would be Lamine. No doubt about it: for me, he is the best." That same week, American television network CBS asked Lamine Yamal on camera whether Spain would win the World Cup. He smiled and said "Yes". What makes Spain wonderkid Lamine Yamal genuinely remarkable is not merely the praise being heaped upon him; it is the composure with which he carries it, and the clarity with which he is already shaping his own identity as a footballer and as a man. He is 18 years old. He has already played in a Champions League semi-final, won a European Championship, and he has been given the number 10 shirt at Barcelona that Messi wore for almost 15 years. Yet the most striking thing about him is not the precocity. It is the serenity. World Cup: Every squad as they are announced Published 1 day ago The World Cup line-up is complete - here's what you need to know Published 1 April Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Lamine Yamal helped Spain win the Euros in 2024 Messi comparisons are inevitable The comparison to Messi arrives whether Lamine Yamal wants it or not. For one thing, they are both left-footed, and the youngster's game is blessed with the same dribbling intelligence, the same deceptive ease, that makes the difficult look inevitable. In fact, he has had a much bigger influence than Messi at the same age, but it would be premature to suggest he can get to the same level. While comparisons may seem futile, one stat would suggest Lamine Yamal is on his way to being Messi's worthy heir. At just 18, he has played 151 times for Barcelona. By the time Messi reached his 19th birthday on June 24, 2006, he had made just 41 top-flight appearances for the club. Ronaldinho, who played alongside Messi at the start of that golden era at Barcelona and won a Champions League with him, has drawn the lineage directly. "Messi and I made history, and now it is Lamine Yamal's turn. What he has already shown at such a young age is extraordinary," the Brazilian told Fifa's website in March. Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand went further, when asked whether Yamal is already better than Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were at a similar age. "Yes," Ferdinand replied on ESPN. "His potential or ceiling might be better than theirs. The body of work at 17 years old - no-one has done it. Pele may have, but I didn't see Pele." To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Lamine Yamal - The Boy King Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has watched Lamine Yamal develop across age groups with the national team and believes what he is seeing is not just talent. "He is a player blessed by God. Football geniuses have something special, and he has it," De la Fuente said. "You can immediately see those kinds of footballers who