Lionel Messi has picked out Barcelona star Lamine Yamal as the player that reminds him most of himself as a youngster. The two have been compared almost since the latter broke into the team, and there is little doubt that in terms of style and position, Barcelona have not had a more natural successor since Messi left in 2022.
Both left-footed, both precocious young talents with excellent dribbling skills, and as of this season, both sporting the number 10, there are no shortage of parallels that can be drawn. While they may be different in style, Lamine Yamal also arrived at a point when Barcelona were in need of a fresh star, although Lamine Yamal has been doing it from a younger age. Messi did not become a starter immediately, but but the end of his first full season as a 16-year-old, Lamine Yamal was already a regular.
🚨 Pini Zahavi is still holding talks with FC Barcelona regarding Luka Vušković. [@Plettigoal] pic.twitter.com/mBVB6a9R7n
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) May 8, 2026
‘There’s no doubt for me’ – Messi on Lamine Yamal
Speaking at an Adidas event following the release of their World Cup 2026 advert, which features both Messi and Lamine Yamal, he was which player he thought ‘that’s a young me’ about when he was watching football.
“There’s a new generation of footballers who are very good and have many years ahead of them, but if I had to choose one because of his age, what he’s done so far, and the future he could have, it would be Lamine. There’s no doubt, for me he’s the best,” as highlighted by Sport.
Periodista a Messi 🗣️: “¿Qué jugador es el que cuando ves jugar decís: ‘ese soy yo de joven’?”
Messi: “Si tengo que elegir a un jugador que se parece mucho a mí cuando era joven, diría que Lamine Yamal”
🥹❤️— Messi out of Context (@OutMessi_) May 8, 2026
Lionel Messi on Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry
One of the things that Lamine Yamal may not have that Messi did are the competitive conditions. Messi walked into a side that would win the Champions League that year, and then was elevated by Pep Guardiola, with the Catalan giants one of major financial powers in the game too. Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona have been squeezed by the pandemic and sustainability rules lately, and bailed out by La Masia products coming through.
It remains to be seen whether Lamine Yamal will have a rival at Real Madrid to push him, as Messi did with Cristiano Ronaldo.
“What happened was a beautiful sporting rivalry. It’s something natural in the world of football. I was at Barcelona and he was at Real Madrid, and we were competing for everything both collectively and individually, so people were always comparing us. But our relationship was always good and respectful, and everything that happened was purely athletic. There was nothing personal.
“We didn’t meet often except at matches or award ceremonies, and we were always on good terms. Now we’re at different stages in our lives, but what happened was a beautiful sporting rivalry,” Messi told Pollo Alvarez.
