Joan Laporta addresses Lamine Yamal comparisons with Lionel Messi as Barcelona president insists 18-year-old 'genius' is already the 'best in the world'

Yamal has been likened to Messi since stepping out of the same La Masia academy system as the Argentine GOAT. They are both left-footed playmakers that glide past opponents and get supporters on their feet.

The record books have been rewritten by Yamal since making his senior bow at the age of 15, with his 18th birthday allowing a lucrative contract in Catalunya to be signed while also inheriting Messi’s iconic No.10 shirt.

Those in Barcelona are reluctant to discuss the similarities between fan favourites of past and present, with it important not to lump too much pressure onto Yamal’s shoulders, and Laporta admits that nobody gets close to Messi for now.

He told CNN during Barca’s pre-season tour of Asia: “Lamine is Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi was Lionel Messi. Messi has been the best player in the world, and Lamine, I think that in today’s situation, he is the best in the world. I think we’ll see, we’ll see.

“Lamine has a lot of personality, like Messi, in his time he also had a lot of personality. Of course, Messi won everything. Messi did everything. For me, he is probably the best player in history.”

While talking up Messi’s claims to being an all-time great, Laporta said of Yamal potentially heading down a similar path: “He is the type of player of which there are very few like him because he is a genius and he is at the highest level.”

Yamal has sought to keep himself out of the Messi debate, with the talented teenager eager to create his own legacy. It is considered to be only a matter of time before he collects a first Ballon d’Or and begins to step out of Messi’s shadow.