Barcelona icon weighs in on Lamine Yamal comparisons with Lionel Messi – ‘A mistake’ | OneFootball

In a short time at the highest level, Lamine Yamal has established himself as one of the top young footballers in the game.

Just 17 years old, the Barcelona sensation is already the face of the club and country. So much so that, Real Madrid legend Guti named him as one of the ‘top three players in the world’ currently.

Yamal is the frontrunner to win the Golden Boy Award and the Kopa Trophy while he also became the youngest footballer to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or.

The La Masia wonderkid’s age, capabilities, quality, and impact have already seen him be compared with Barcelona legend and all-time great Lionel Messi.

David Villa: Nobody can be compared to Messi

Now, former Barcelona forward and Messi’s attacking partner once upon a time, David Villa, has weighed in on Yamal being compared to the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.

The ex-Spain attacker believes that Yamal is a special talent, without a doubt, but comparing him or any other player for that matter to Messi is a mistake.

“I think, not because of Lamine, because he is a special player, a unique player, we have not seen anything like him I think ever because of his youth and precocity, but I have said it many times, to compare a player with Messi is a mistake,” he told MARCA.

Nobody can be compared to Messi, says Villa. (Photo by CHRIS ARJOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Continuing, Villa added that Messi is always in a league of his own and nobody, be it the likes of Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland, can be compared to the former Barcelona captain.

“Anyone in the world of football: Lamine, Haaland, Mbappe… anyone. You can’t compare him to Messi because Messi is something else,” he stated.

However, Villa was happy to concede that Yamal was doing some special things for a player his age and that there was no knowing how high he could go.

“But it’s true that this boy is doing some things that make us think that we don’t know where his ceiling is going to be,” said the former Valencia and Atletico Madrid star.

Yamal himself has downplayed these comparisons with Messi, stating that nobody can reach the Argentine legend’s level and that he would be happy to achieve half the success the current Inter Miami superstar has done in his career.

“Messi is the best player in history. To be compared to him is incredible but no one can be compared to him. I hope to have half the career that Messi has had,” he had said back in June.