Lautaro Martinez Arrests Comparison Between Lamine Yamal And Lionel Messi

JAKARTA - Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez said he was impressed with Lamine Yamal, but added that there was no comparison between Barcelona's teenage sensation and Lionel Messi.

There are many similarities found between Yamal and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, both of whom are young Barcelona players.

"For me, Leo (Messi) has no appeal because Leo will always be the best player of all time."

"I'm not going to make that comparison. All I can say is, Lamine is an important player, we've all seen it, we all know him," Martinez said of the Inter Miami captain.

Messi scored 672 goals in 778 games for Barcelona before leaving the club in 2021. He helped the Blaugrana win 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

Yamal, 17 years old, has scored 21 goals and made 27 assists in 99 appearances for Barcelona since being promoted to the first team in the summer of 2023.

At the age of 16, Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in La Liga history and the youngest player to feature at the Euros with Spain.

He won the Tournament Young Player of the Year award at Euro 2024 after helping Spain win the title.

"At a young age, he did a great job and has won an important title with his national team."

"He deserves respect, he has a bright future ahead of him," Martinez said of Yamal ahead of the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.

Yamal, who lifted the Copa del Rey after his team's 3-2 win over Real Madrid on Sunday, April 27, 2025, early morning WIB, had no problem with the comparison at a press conference.

"I don't compare myself to him. I don't want to compare myself to anyone, let alone Messi."

"That's something I leave to you. In the end, I'm just trying to get better than yesterday."

"I really admire Messi. So, I don't want to compare myself to the best player in football history. I still haven't spoken to him directly," Yamal told reporters when asked about Messi.

Apart from that, Barcelona are four points ahead of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with five games remaining.