‘Has a huge future ahead’… Lionel Messi names the Barcelona wonderkid who reflects him as a player | OneFootball

After spending 21 years at the Catalan club, Lionel Messi left FC Barcelona in 2021 in a manner that was far from fair for a legend of his stature. The Argentine and the Blaugrana hierarchy clearly had some issues between them, and La Pulga was not very happy with the way he had been treated by the club.

However, the ice between the two parties seems to be thawing recently. Although he did not attend the gala for the celebration of Barcelona’s 125th anniversary, he still sent a heartfelt message. Similarly, in another recent message, he expressed his desire to see Barcelona return to the top in all the big competitions in Spain and Europe.

Now, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, Messi once again picked a Barcelona star, Lamine Yamal, as the player in whom he sees himself reflected as he attended an event in Germany. In this regard, the Argentine World Cup winner said:

“There is a very talented generation of young footballers with many years ahead of them. If I had to choose one, because of his age and future potential, I’ve heard people mention Lamine Yamal, and I absolutely agree.”

“It depends on him and various factors, as football can be unpredictable, but he is already making an impact in the present and undoubtedly has a huge future ahead.”

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

There is no doubt that Lamine Yamal deserves this honor the most, not only because of his association with Barcelona but also because of the high-level performances that he has been putting in for the last two years at a very tender age.

Furthermore, one can argue that Yamal was already anointed by Messi when he was only a baby, as there was an interaction between the two 17 years ago in which Messi can be seen holding a young Lamine Yamal as a part of a photo shoot for a calendar.