Lamine Yamal has made no secret of his admiration for Lionel Messi before, but the Barcelona teenager’s latest remarks in Madrid showed just how highly he rates the Argentine. Fresh from winning the Laureus Award for Best Young Athlete, Yamal was asked about the comparisons that continue to follow him at just 18, and he responded by placing Messi at the very top of sport itself.
For Yamal, this was not just about football greatness. He described Messi as the best player in history and suggested his standing stretches far beyond the game, underlining the scale of the Argentine’s influence on players of his generation. The comments from the Laureus event in Madrid quickly drew attention across the football world for both their weight and timing. Yamal is already one of the defining young faces of football, and every public word from him now lands with extra force.
Yamal places Messi above football’s usual limits
“Messi, for me, is the best player in history, and if he’s not the greatest athlete in history, then he’s right up there,” Yamal said during the event.
That was the standout statement, but it was not the only one. In explaining why Messi’s place feels bigger than football alone, Yamal added: “He’s not a legend only in his sport.”
The remark captured something central to Lionel Messi’s legacy. For Yamal’s generation, Messi was not just a player to watch from afar. He was a constant presence in childhood, schoolyard games and imagination. That personal connection came through again when the Spain international said: “He was part of the childhood of every kid who played at school, in the park.”
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Yamal’s own rise makes those comments more striking. He is no longer just another gifted youngster speaking about an idol. He is already a major Barcelona player, a European champion with Spain, and now the winner of one of world sport’s most prestigious youth honours. That is why his words carried the tone of both admiration and ambition.
“Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps,” Lamine Yamal said, making clear that Messi remains the benchmark.
The statement also arrives with extra intrigue because of what could lie ahead. Spain and Argentina are among the biggest contenders heading toward the 2026 World Cup, and any future meeting between the two sides would instantly become one of the tournament’s most compelling storylines. If that happens, the teenager who grew up revering Messi may find himself sharing the biggest stage in football with the player he still sees as the sport’s highest standard.
That is what made Yamal’s remarks resonate. They were not presented as casual compliments. They came across as a clear verdict from one of football’s brightest young stars on the player who defined his childhood and still defines excellence for him now.
