Real Madrid playmaker praises Barcelona attacker ahead of international faceoff – ‘Highly talented’ | OneFootball

As the Ballon d’Or ceremony nears, more and more football pundits and players are coming out to openly declare Barcelona gem Lamine Yamal as the best player in the world.

So far this season, the teenager has continued to be integral in Barcelona’s plans and also earned an assist in his first game for Spain in the international break.

The next game sees La Roja take on Turkey, giving Yamal another chance to shine.

Real Madrid talent’s opinion

Speaking to the media ahead of Spain’s game against Turkey, Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler opened up on Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona star’s talent and the threat he poses in the game tomorrow night.

“Of course, [Lamine] doesn’t surprise me, we all know he’s a very important and highly talented player – tomorrow too, he’ll try to put us in difficulty, but we’ll show respect to our players and do our very best.”

When asked about the comparisons between him and Yamal, given their rivalry at the club level and the fact that they both belong to the next generation, the Turkish international said,

“Of course, I don’t have much to say about Yamal, because we don’t play in the same position and don’t have the same style.”

Lamine will face Guler and Turkey. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

“The comparison isn’t very accurate – but I understand the comparisons. He plays for Barcelona, and I play for Real Madrid. But I wish him the best as well in tomorrow’s match,” he added.

Turkey manage heaps praise

The Turkish national team manager Vincenzo Montella also faced the media ahead of the anticipated clash, and he too had nothing but words of praise for the winger.

“I think [Lamine] is a very good football player, and honestly, we enjoy watching him a lot – he is a young player, and we can see that he also enjoys playing.”

“But as you know, the Spanish national team is not just made up of Yamal, so such evaluations must be done very carefully,” he added on the game ahead.

The manager then went on to detail the questions that plague a coach’s mind before a game against Yamal given that the youngster has an answer against most tactical setups.

“For example: Will you set up double coverage on him? Then will you leave another player in a difficult position? These kinds of evaluations must be conducted with great care, and of course, I will not announce my decision regarding this now.”

“We will make the best possible assessment and based on that, we will enter the match,” he added.

Source: AA Spor