Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, at 17, would possibly already be the most effective soccer participant on the earth

Lamine Yamal is 17 years previous and typically — when he is not scoring Champions League objectives, or flooring defenders, or main Barcelona to the highest of La Liga — he appears it. He nonetheless wears dental braces. He . His cheeky, boyish grin gleams with teenage innocence.

And at different occasions, like Tuesday evening, he appears like the most effective soccer participant on the earth.

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As a result of even at 17, he could be. That is not a reactionary, exaggerated declare. Yamal sparked Barca into the Champions League quarterfinals Tuesday, and added to a growing-but-already-quite-large pattern measurement of greatness.

First, he ghosted previous two Benfica defenders, eliminating each with a single feint. Each scrambled as he discovered Raphinha, maybe with a bit of fine fortune, on the far publish for this Spherical of 16 second leg’s opening objective.

LAMINE YAMAL WHAT HAVE YOU JUST DONE?! 🤯

The 17-year-old finds Raphinha after a run for the ages 😳

Then, 16 minutes later, he drove diagonally away from objective, and nonetheless flipped a curling shot into the far nook.

, and 4-1 on combination.

Yamal has been doing all of this semi-regularly for over a yr now. He did it on the Euros. He is carried out all of it throughout Spain. He is contributed to 45 objectives for membership and nation since final February. And once more: he’s solely 17.

When he helped lead Spain final summer season, he was talked about as the longer term. When he scored or created a objective in each knockout-round sport, he was a breakout star but additionally nonetheless a prospect. There have been cute tales about how, as a minor, native legal guidelines technically would not permit him to “work” previous a sure hour. There have been predictions — seemingly overzealous on the time — that sometime, he might be nearly as good as Lionel Messi.

And now?

“I believe it is foolish to check him to Messi, as a result of Messi is exclusive and there’ll by no means be anybody like him,” Gavi, Yamal’s Spain and Barcelona teammate, . “Everyone seems to be their very own particular person and writes their very own story.”

However then he continued: “Lamine, for me, is the most effective at the moment.”

There is a hesitance to anoint him as a result of there are dozens of nice gamers whose résumés are extra intensive. There may be Rodri, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner. There may be Mo Salah, who, in his eighth yr at Liverpool, has had the most effective 2024-25 season of anyone in world soccer. There are Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Jr., who’ve been doing Lamine-like issues for for much longer.

However Yamal, no less than from time to time, appears like a extra full participant. He in assists and goal-creating actions. His progressive dribbling numbers are almost on par with Vini’s. And so is his sauce. A few of his on-ball expertise are mind-boggling. His private checklist of “defenders I made look foolish” is already ridiculously lengthy.

Oh, and he’s making teammates higher. He has contributed to Raphinha’s profession yr; he has helped lengthen the exploits of Robert Lewandowski. He additionally defends, and is doing all of this inside a Barca group that may, largely because of him, be the most effective in Europe and the Champions League favourite.

He’s on a Messi-like trajectory. That does not imply he’ll equal the GOAT — careers aren’t linear, and accidents can intrude — however that is not an outlandish factor to say.

And though he most likely does not fairly have the but, he very effectively might by the top of the yr.