Lamine Yamal’s confession — “For me, he is the greatest in history” — should, in theory, end all comparisons. Yet the comparisons with Lionel Messi keep resurfacing, as if the footballing world is determined to mould him into a replica of the Argentine legend. Yamal, however, is still at the dawn of his career. The road ahead of him is long, unpredictable, and full of possibility. And crucially, it is a road he wishes to walk alone.
For those who watch him play, echoes of Messi are natural: the left foot, the positional preference, the tight dribbling in narrow spaces, the composure in the box. But resemblance does not equate to imitation. And Yamal has made it unequivocally clear that he refuses to be measured by another man’s legacy. Speaking to CBS News in the United States, the Barcelona winger said he has no intention of becoming “the next Messi”. He wants to write his own script, carve his own path — and Messi himself, he claims, is fully aware of that.
Implicitly, Yamal hinted at a wider truth: those being compared feel little pressure, while those doing the comparing lose sleep over it. Since Messi’s departure from Barcelona in 2021, no other La Masia graduate has resembled him even remotely as much as Yamal has. The teenager has already lifted league titles with Barcelona, won the European Championship with Spain, and is discussed as a future Ballon d’Or contender — achievements that bear a faint resemblance to Messi’s early trajectory.
The similarities go deeper. Both players are predominantly left-footed. Both operate in near-identical attacking zones. Both score and assist with remarkable maturity for their age. But Yamal insists that he wants no part in diminishing Messi’s greatness by allowing himself to be projected as a successor. For him, Messi stands alone.
During the “60 Minutes” interview, Yamal began by reiterating his respect: “What he is, and what he has been in football, I respect immensely. When we see each other on the pitch, that mutual respect will always remain. For me, he is the greatest the sport has ever seen.”
Many share that sentiment. Having won everything possible with Barcelona, along with a World Cup and Copa América for Argentina, Messi is now enjoying his twilight years with Inter Miami at the age of 38, unsure whether a final World Cup awaits him.
Yamal continued, “We both know that I do not want to be Messi. He knows it too. I want to follow my own path. I have no desire to play like him or wear the number 10 shirt merely because he did.”
Ironically, despite this stance, Yamal currently wears Barcelona’s number 10 jersey — a number steeped in Messi’s legacy. He has also assumed a role strikingly similar to what Messi once fulfilled: the creative catalyst, the attacking spark, the young hope around whom the team revolves.
This season, he has scored seven goals in fourteen matches for Barcelona. When asked to describe his playing style, he summed it up with a single word: “Joy. That’s the right word. I play to make people happy. I’m an athlete who entertains. Breaking world records, scoring hundreds of goals or completing countless dribbles — those aren’t my aims. I want to enjoy the game myself and inspire children. Yes, scoring goals is great, but football is more than statistics.”
Despite fame, wealth and global attention, Yamal remains grounded. At 18, he still does not have a driving licence, and when asked what car he might buy in the future, he offered a surprisingly thoughtful answer: “I want to enjoy the freedom of driving alone. My car should be one my friends can enjoy as well. But it won’t be a Lamborghini. Maybe an Audi, a Mercedes, or a Cupra.”
His personal life has recently become the subject of public discussion — rumours, speculation, and questions about relationships. But when asked about his “first love”, Yamal left the audience delighted: “Football. That was my first love, and it will always be. My friends, my father, and my mother all love football. It is everything in my life.”