'Unbelievable' Lamine Yamal compared to a young Wayne Rooney after Barcelona starlet dominates for Spain at Euro 2024

The former Arsenal striker heaped praise on the Barcelona wonderkid as he played a stellar role in Spain winning their record fourth European Championship. He went on to compare the 17-year-old's abilities to those of a young Wayne Rooney when he burst into the scene 20 years ago.

Ahead of the Euro 2024 final, Rooney himself had claimed that Yamal reminded him of his younger days from when he made his Euros debut in 2004. After a memorable performance in his first full season with the Catalan giants, the youngster displayed stellar form in his first-ever major competition as he contributed with one goal and four assists.

Speaking on Sky Bet's Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, the ex-player said, "Lamine Yamal is my player of the tournament – it can’t be anyone else. A 16-year-old who has been so consistent throughout the whole tournament and scored one of the goals of the tournament. He’s been unbelievable.

"What [we] saw from Lamine Yamal in Euro 2024 reminds me of how Wayne Rooney played at the Euros in 2004 in Portugal. Rooney was going on to be the player of the tournament until he did his ankle. He was unbelievable."

The attacker will join Barcelona's pre-season soon as the Blaugrana are set to travel to the US later this month where they are scheduled to play friendly matches against clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan.