Real Madrid legend Guti drops shock Lamine Yamal v Lionel Messi comparison | OneFootball

Lamine Yamal continues to be a leading light in the Barcelona attack as Hansi Flick pushes for a trophy treble in 2025.

The Spain international is crucial for club and country despite 2024/25 being just his second full season as a first teamer.

From Barcelona’s 29 La Liga games this season, Lamine Yamal has started 24, and completed 90+ minutes in all but one of them, as an underlining of his growing importance.

His stats remain impressive, with six La Liga goals and 11 assists, leading the rankings in the latter metric and Flick will lean heavily on him in the run-in.

Despite not turning 18 until July, Lamine Yamal continues to defy the odds, and comparisons to Barcelona legends have stepped up, including with the iconic Lionel Messi.

Messi’s status at Barcelona remains untouched as the club’s greatest-ever player and some fans are still hopeful he will return for a stint in Catalonia before calling time on his incredible career.

The signs are still early, but there is a growing sense that Lamine Yamal could be a candidate to challenge Messi’s incredible achievements, if his stays fit and firing throughout his career.

Barcelona are delicate not to put too much Messi-related pressure on the teenager but former Real Madrid star Guti has waded into the debate.

Guti has developed a reputation for bold statements about current La Liga players, and he is in no doubt that Lamine Yamal is already above his level in Madrid, and ahead of Messi’s when the Argentinian was 17.

“He’s light years ahead of what I did. Is he best? What does it mean to be the best? Being the best means being the best every single match, and he’s not the best every single match,” as per reports from Mundo Deportivo.

“It happens to him just like Kylian Mbappe or Vinicius Junior. He has a tremendous talent, and we often talk about how he doesn’t score, but with the passes he makes, he decides the game.

“He’s a player who can decide the game with one pass.

“I didn’t see Messi do that at this age. He’s a star in La Liga, but still a youth player. He’s currently Barcelona’s benchmark.”