“I’m not the new Lionel Messi,” he insists, against all the mounting evidence. No sooner had 17-year-old Lamine Yamal pooh-poohed the idea than he put in a performance that bore many of the hallmarks of the Argentine genius. A celestial wand for a left foot. An otherworldly ability to ghost past defenders as if they’re not there. And a knack for finding the far corner through the eye of a needle. All these were on glittering display in Barcelona’s epic 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in their Champions League semi-final first leg. Inter boss Simone Inzaghi admitted the Italians had tried to double mark him, but said: “Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years.” BBC pundits ranged from calling him “a future Ballon d’Or winner’ to – for those of a gaming persuasion – ‘a cheat code.’ Most observers had Messi in mind as they tried to do the teenager justice. Even watching from this distance in the early hours, you couldn’t escape the feeling of having witnessed something special. It was well worth the wake-up call, and those who saw it can hardly wait for the return in the San Siro next Tuesday. The game was dubbed an instant classic, and the tie is wonderfully poised, but Yamal was the talking point. ‘Every 50 years’ is almost as rare as a visit from Halley’s Comet and doesn’t quite cover the playing careers of arguably football’s top trio of immortals, Pele, Maradona, and Messi. Alright, there’s a danger of getting carried away here, and no shortage of wonderkids who have crashed and burned. Mention Bojan Krkic, Freddy Adu, Adriano and, of recent vintage, Ansu Fati, and you’ll immediately become wary. But Yamal is not an overnight sensation: this was his 100th game in a Barcelona shirt, and he first played when he was 15. He has already scored 22 goals and made 33 assists: he has been “promising” for a while. An honours graduate of the famed La Masia academy, he came to the world’s attention when he starred in Spain’s European Championship triumph in 2024. But ‘the new Messi’? It seemed a stretch, and even after providing two assists in Barcelona’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final last weekend, Yamal wasn’t having any of it. “I don’t compare myself to him, because I don’t compare myself to anyone, and much less with Messi,” he said, before describing the Argentine as “the best player in history”. “I don’t think the comparison makes sense, with Messi even less – I’m going to enjoy myself, and be myself,” he added. After a performance against Inter that took the breath away, the similarities can no longer be ignored. Take his goal, which brought his side back into the game after Inter’s fast start. Trailing 2-0 in the home leg, with the small Montjuic crowd quiet – the Nou Camp is being rebuilt – Barca badly needed a lift. As they used to with Messi so many times, they gave the ball to Yamal, although there was absolutely nothing on. Miles out, and with no fewer than 10 Inter players between him and the goal, Barcelona needed something to happen. Yamal didn’t let them down. He waltzed past one opponent and then another. Four defenders converged on him, but he skipped and then seemed to glide between them. It was very tight, but there was a sliver of an opening. Enough to wield that wand of a left foot and find the net via the far post. It was a stupendous goal. And right from Messi’s handbook, out of nothing. Like his goal for Spain against France in the Euros, it came with his team behind in the game. And as it was then, it was the turning point. He had been relatively quiet, but stepped up when his team needed him to. Just as Messi used to. Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claimed that watching Yamal was like “watching Messi in his heyday.” Former Red Devil Rio Ferdinand reckoned: “He’s on another level to any player playing the game in the top (five) leagues in world football.” Thierry Henry went even further, daring to suggest: “One thing that amazes me about football is that you always think there is no way someone is going to be better than Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo. ‘Or in my time, Pele or Maradona… And then Yamal arrives.” If you think the former France and Arsenal star is going over the top, the stats support him. Yamal is way ahead of both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at his age. At 17, Messi had just one goal in nine appearances while Ronaldo had five in 19 games before he was 18. Messi and Ronaldo did not make their international debuts until they were 18, while Yamal won Euro 2024 the day after his 17th birthday. Spain had no hesitation in throwing him in at the deep end. Messi was held back by Argentina to protect him, while Ronaldo did not become world-class until he was at Manchester United. This pair, against whom Yamal is forever going to be judged, were almost late developers in comparison. Fans have always wondered when the next ‘Messi’ would arrive and where he would come from. The beauty of the game – and humanity – is that there’s just no way of knowing. Nor what he would be like. Maradona was chalk to Pele’s cheese, and Messi was like nothing we’d ever seen. If he is going to join this lofty pantheon – and fingers are crossed – Yamal is different again. At 1.80m, he’s substantially taller than Messi and, although left-footed, has a stronger right foot. He is also much more confident than the Argentine, who was a shrinking violet in his youth. Neither of his parents is Spanish-born. His mother is a refugee from Equatorial Guinea, while his father is from Morocco. During the Euros, a picture emerged of a young Messi holding Lamine as a baby at a charity event. More than a politician’s kiss or papal blessing, it seems to have had the desired effect. The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.