Barcelona wonderkid miles ahead of Lionel Messi at his age

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Around 20 years ago in October, Lionel Messi made baby steps towards his journey to excellence as he made his Barcelona senior team debut.

Messi, at the time, was just 17 – 11 days younger than Lamine Yamal’s current age. But while the Argentine was merely making his debut at that age, Yamal has already surpassed his early tally, even establishing himself as one of the best wingers in La Liga.

Yamal’s early headstart cannot be ignored

While Messi debuted in a derby against Espanyol on October 16, 2004, having only played friendlies until then, Yamal has already clocked 64 official matches with the Barcelona first team, contributing 12 goals and 7 assists.

Such figures firmly place him ahead of Messi’s early numbers, underscoring a unique start that’s difficult to overlook.

Can Yamal reach Messi’s level? (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Even apart from the number of matches he has played for Barcelona, Yamal has also achieved unprecedented success with the national team, notably playing a key role in helping Spain win the European Championship.

Can Messi’s records be beaten?

Despite Yamal’s early headstarts, though, matching Messi’s legendary 672-goal career record remains a Herculean feat.

In fact, Messi’s career trajectory was not about what he did at an early stage, which, though impressive, pales in comparison to what he did later in his career.

In 2012, for example, Messi scored as many as 91 goals for the club and country – a number unthinkable in any era of football. Matching such a number looks impossible, even for someone like Yamal.

However, as far as his overall numbers are concerned, Yamal’s current trajectory in appearances and assists suggests that some records might indeed fall.

His output at such a young age positions him as one of the brightest talents in football, making the once-farfetched comparisons with Messi seem increasingly plausible