Barcelona icon plays down Lamine-Messi comparisons, says defensive gem reminds him of himself | OneFootball

Barcelona, over the years, have had several legends of the game render their services to defend the Blaugrana crest. They have, however, always maintained a special connection with Dutch talents.

Johan Cruyff’s influence on the club, to date, dictates the pattern of dynamics that dominate in the Catalan capital and it is thus unsurprising that Barcelona have had several Dutch legends who have marked an era at the club.

Frenkie de Jong, as it stands, is the only representative of the special bond but Ronald Koeman, Marc Overmars, and Frank de Boer are just some of the players from the nation to have played for the Blaugrana.

Frank de Boer speaks

Speaking to the media in a recent interview, Dutch legend Frank de Boer discussed Barcelona’s recent success, the impact of La Masia, and his time at the Blaugrana club.

He began by stressing the importance of the academy in Barcelona’s success and how the young talents under Hansi Flick have the ability to define an era for the club.

“La Masia is the DNA of the club. The young talents of that quarry will always have the opportunity. For me they are very good,” he began.

Elaborating in particular on Lamine Yamal and the impact the youngster has on the club’s progress, the legendary defender said,

“Why not? He has a lot of young people, removing Lewandowski, already older. The rest have a lot of future.”

The Dutch legend then went on to praise Yamal for his quality and consistency at such a young age and the excitement he brings to the sport.

“It’s incredible. Still 17 years old and has already played 100 games with Barcelona. Incredible what he is doing in two years. I love seeing him. Everyone encourages me to follow him because he is a special player.”

He then laid out his favourites to take home the Ballon d’Or for this season, saying,

“Lamine Yamal or Dembele.”

The present and future of La Masia. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Commenting on the comparisons between Yamal and Lionel Messi, de Boer refused to place the two footballers next to each other and claimed that both were great in their own right.

“Lamine is Lamine, and Messi is Messi. There is no need to compare. Lamine can be a great player, I don’t know how big he is, but he can be. It’s starting.”

Concurrently, however, the former defender did not forget to shower praise on Barcelona’s other teenage phenom Pau Cubarsi.

“I really like Cubarsi. He is very good. He has a style similar to mine. He can jump very high and handles his feet very well. I love him for building up from the back.”

Finally, de Boer spoke about his time as a Barcelona player and the great memories he has of his time at the club.

“I was a Dutchman who left his house for the first time, to enter another culture. I loved that time, it’s a shame we didn’t win so much. We had too many stars: Rivaldo, Figo, Kluivert,” he began.

“[We won] Only the League at that time, little for the great team we had. But I’m proud to have played five seasons at Barça,” he added.

Source: Mundo Deportivo