Lamine Yamal has Lionel Messi’s backing as the best player among football’s latest generation, and that verdict lands while the Barcelona teenager is already on a path toward more silverware. Messi said there is “no doubt” about it at a recent event, adding more weight to a player who has taken over his No. 10 shirt and is expected to be in the Ballon d’Or conversation again.
Messi’s verdict on Yamal
“There is a new generation of footballers who are very good and who have many years ahead of them, but if I have to choose one because of age, for what he has done so far and for the future he may have, he is Lamine. There’s no doubt, for me he’s the best,” Messi said. The comment came as he spoke about the future of football, and it gives Yamal a direct endorsement from the former Barcelona star whose path he has already been linked to.
That link is not new. Yamal has taken over Messi’s No. 10 shirt at Barcelona, and he has been widely tipped to follow in Messi’s footsteps and become the best player in the world. The latest praise sharpens that comparison because it comes after Yamal’s rise has already moved him into elite award company at 18 years old.
Ballon d'Or and Barcelona
At the last Ballon d’Or awards, Yamal finished second behind Ousmane Dembele. He is expected to be among the favorites for top spot at this year’s Ballon d’Or awards, a position that reflects both what he has already done and what he still has ahead of him.
Barcelona’s season gives him another platform. Yamal is set to win his third La Liga title this season with Barcelona, and then he will head to the World Cup with Spain. That sequence leaves him entering the next stretch with club success already on the board and an international tournament to follow.
Spain and the World Cup
The route from Barcelona to the World Cup now runs through a season that could end with another title. For Yamal, the immediate story is not just Messi’s praise but the way it lands alongside the trophies and award races already attached to his name. He is moving from a player with promise into one who is already being measured against the top of the sport.
