Barcelona president Joan Laporta has gone on record to declare Lamine Yamal the best footballer currently on the planet and has already drawn parallels between the 18-year-old prodigy and club legend Lionel Messi.
Lamine Yamal, who has just celebrated his 18th birthday, was first given the No. 10 shirt that was worn by Messi and has already played 106 matches for the senior team.
His rapid surge has led to widespread comparisons with the Argentine great, although Laporta was quick to emphasize their individual brilliance.“Leo is Leo and Lamine is Lamine,” Laporta told CNN.
“Messi has been the best player in history, but Lamine, at this moment in time, is the best player in the world. We shall see how far he can go.”
Laporta also lauded Yamal’s personality and courage which in his opinion are exactly the same as those of Messi in his first period at Camp Nou.“He has an astonishing character, like Messi when he was a kid,” Laporta said.
“At the same time, he is very mature, a real child prodigy. We are talking about such a genius of football as there are very few of them and who shapes an era.” Fans of Barcelona will understandably be excited to see what sort of player Yamal can become as the club moves forward in the post-Messi era.
