Lamine Yamal names himself alongside Barcelona team-mate as 'most talented' in squad and hails Raphinha 'mentality' after Brazil star was targeted by Argentina players during international break

That is a bold shout from an academy graduate that is still just 17 years of age and is yet to reach 100 appearances for the Liga giants. Yamal has, however, seen his stock soar since making a senior breakthrough at 15 and shattering a number of notable records.

He is a European Championship winner at international level, while Kopa Trophy and Golden Ball awards have been added to his ever-growing list of honours. With that in mind, and having already been compared to eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, it comes as little surprise to find that the teenage wonderkid is full of confidence.

Yamal told beIN Sports when asked to name the most talented player in Barca’s ranks: “Me and Pedri.” He went on to say when discussing his own personal development: “I’m going step by step and I want to improve my numbers, develop my career and keep winning. Here in Spain, you know how things are and how the press is, but I just focus on myself and my performance, we players only react on the pitch, but I always have fun with my team-mates.”

One of those is Brazilian star Raphinha, whose exploits have put him in the Ballon d’Or debate for 2025. The South American endured a tough international break, after aiming a “f*ck them” jibe at Argentina before suffering a 4-1 defeat to arch-rivals and coming in for rough treatment from Albiceleste stars.

Yamal, though, has said of his talented colleague – who has 24 goals and 14 assists to his name this season: “I’m happy to have Raphinha on my side, his mentality has improved tremendously, he’s always been an excellent player and he just had to prove it, I’m very happy for him.”

The exploits of Yamal and Raphinha have helped to keep Barcelona in contention for La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey titles this season. Hansi Flick’s side will be back in action on Thursday when playing host to Osasuna.