Lamine Yamal calls Messi the best player in history, opens up about injury and forging his own path

Lamine Yamal, the teenager who has spent much of his young career being compared to Lionel Messi, just made his position on that comparison crystal clear. In an interview with RTVE, the 18-year-old Barcelona winger declared Messi the best player in football history, adding that he cannot reach the Argentine’s level.

The timing of the statement is hard to ignore. Messi had just scored a hat-trick against Algeria at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The kid speaks, and he’s not trying to be Messi

Yamal’s comments to RTVE, reported around June 19-20, carry a layered message. On one hand, he’s offering unqualified praise for a player who redefined the sport. On the other, he’s drawing a line in the sand about his own identity.

In a separate 60 Minutes interview that aired around June 14-15, Yamal said he aims to follow his own path. He wants to build a legacy that stands on its own terms, not one measured in units of Messi.