‘One-on-three’ quality that puts Lamine Yamal in Lionel Messi category highlighted as former Spain international sees teenage star emulating ‘player from another galaxy’

According to quotes published by Mundo Deportivo ahead of the World Cup opener in Mexico City, Salgado expressed his excitement regarding the development of Spain’s newest jewel. La Roja find themselves in Group H alongside Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, and are set to kick off their campaign against Cape Verde on June 15. While acknowledging that Messi remains in a tier of his own, the former full-back admitted the similarities between the two La Masia graduates are becoming impossible to ignore.

“We are very anxious to see what Lamine we are going to have in this World Cup. It will be incredible,” Salgado said. “Messi is a player from another galaxy, but it is true that they have parallels. Lamine is one of those players that people like to watch. There are not many with that personality in the one-on-one. And I wouldn't just say in the one-on-one, but one-on-two or one-on-three. That is something that Messi did have.”

Salgado, who spent a decade at the Bernabeu, pointed toward the shared upbringing of both players at Barcelona’s famed academy as a key factor in their rapid ascent. He noted that while Messi arrived as a child from Argentina, Yamal has been immersed in the Blaugrana culture for even longer, allowing him to handle the pressure of elite football at just 18 years of age. This maturity has already translated into silverware, with Yamal winning three La Liga titles, Euro 2024 with Spain, and finishing as the runner-up for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.

“Messi arrived at 12 and Lamine even earlier,” Salgado reflected. “They have grown up in that Barcelona football environment, which is special. At 17 years old, what Lamine has achieved is crazy. It is true that he is missing the Champions League, but he has plenty of time to win it. He has already been able to win the European Championship and be one of the important players within it, something that is not easy.”

The comparison to Messi is not one Salgado makes lightly, having witnessed the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's emergence firsthand during his playing days. He recalled the moment the Real Madrid squad realised they were facing a generational talent during a historic Clasico encounter where a teenage Messi announced himself to the world - a fixture in which the Argentine would eventually finish as the all-time top scorer with 26 goals.

“I have been lucky enough to see him from the first moment. We discussed it in the Real Madrid dressing room as soon as we saw him in that first Clasico against us, where he scored a hat-trick,” Salgado explained. “Then we knew he was a different player, at the level of the greats. But when I talk about the greats, I talk about Maradona, Pele… those people who have marked an era and who are above the rest.”

Despite the glowing praise, there are lingering concerns regarding the physical toll being placed on Yamal. The winger has been a constant fixture for both club and country over the last twelve months, and Salgado admitted there are questions over how the youngster will handle the intensity of a World Cup following a recent injury lay-off, after an injury suffered at the end of April sidelined him from action since then.

“Lamine has been very in demand throughout the season, both in the Champions League and in the league and in the rest of the competitions. That is clear,” Salgado concluded. “Right now it is very difficult to tell a boy to save himself. First, because he is very young; second, because he wants to win everything; and third, because we are in a World Cup year. It is complicated to pace yourself.”