Lamine Yamal is “ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi”, with two GOATs told they were “nowhere near” the same level at 17 years of age.
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- Teenager rewriting history books
- Looking to emulate all-time greats
- Potential to become one himself
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- Getty/GOAL
WHAT HAPPENED?
Portuguese legend Ronaldo and Argentine icon Messi were teen sensations in their own right. They burst onto the scene at Sporting and Barcelona respectively, with the former staking his first claims to superstardom after linking up with Manchester United.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
They now have 13 Ballons d’Or, countless records and historic hauls of major trophies between them. Standings among the sporting immortals have been secured by two all-time greats.
- Getty
DID YOU KNOW?
Yamal, though, is showing enough potential to suggest that he could at least match their efforts. He made his senior bow for Barca at 15 and is already a European Championship winner with Spain. La Liga and Champions League titles are now in his sights.
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WHAT RIO FERDINAND SAID
After seeing the youngster put in another eye-catching display for Barcelona in their continental semi-final clash with Inter, Ronaldo’s former United team-mate Rio Ferdinand told : “It's just ridiculous what he's done. His ability to take people on. I think the thing that really caught my eye about him, other than the moments of brilliance, is that every part of his left foot was used in that game. He's an artist.
“At this age, he's ahead of Cristiano, he's ahead of Messi. His stats alone – he's had 100 appearances at 17! These guys were nowhere near that and he's dominating games, he's defining games.”
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