Lamine Yamal reacts to ‘impossible’ Lionel Messi challenge as Barcelona wonderkid makes €120m transfer admission in bid to become a ‘legend’

At 17 years of age, the La Masia academy graduate has already made history with club and country. He made a senior breakthrough with Barca at 15, before going on to land the European Championship crown with Spain in 2024.

Given the path that he has taken, obvious comparisons have been drawn with Argentine superstar Messi. Yamal is proud to be mentioned alongside the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, but accepts that he will never scale such heights.

Yamal has told El Hormiguero of the seemingly endless debate regarding his chances of following in the most illustrious of footsteps: “I like being compared to the best player in football history, but I want to be myself. Reaching Messi’s level is impossible.”

While emulating Messi is considered to be too big a challenge, Yamal does want to create his own legacy. That means sticking around at Barca for as long as possible – even if big-money transfer bids are tabled. He added on his future, after being told that his market value currently stands at €120 million (£101m/$133m): “I don’t want them to give me those 120 million because I would have to leave Barca. I hope I can never leave Barca, I want to be a legend.”

Yamal is well on course to achieving that aim, with a lot being fit into his relatively short career. There is the promise of much more to come, with the talented teenager already being included on the 30-man shortlist for Ballon d’Or honours in 2024.