Lamine Yamal – What people who know football say about Barcelona’s teenage star

Asked about Lamine Yamal in the aftermath of the teenager’s scintillating display against Inter, his Barcelona coach Hansi Flick called the winger a “genius”. Others went further, suggesting he is Barcelona’s best player, the finest 17-year-old in modern times, or simply the world’s best footballer.

Flick added a note of caution to his praise, saying: “It can’t just be a one-off. That’s what I want from him and all the players. The ability to improve. You have to work hard. To reach the level of (Cristiano) Ronaldo or (Lionel) Messi, or other great players.”

But what is it that makes Yamal so good? And what is it he still needs to improve?

Before he faces Inter again in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final we asked people who spend much of their lives watching or developing footballers for their observations of what Yamal does well, how he compares to the greats, what his potential is and what he can still improve.

They talk about his technique, his vision, his discipline, his ability to solve problems, his tendency to make good decisions — and the fact he looks like he’s having fun. As one coach says, “Ultimately, we all love this sport because of players like him.”

This is how people in football talk about Yamal.

‘I don’t think he’s going to overtake Messi, but he’ll get close’

When Luka Modric was a team-mate of Cristiano Ronaldo, they asked him, ‘Who’s the best player in the world?’ And he says, ‘Ronaldo’. After that, they asked him, ‘What about Messi?’ And then he says, ‘Messi is not from this planet’.

And so in essence, when you speak about Lamine Yamal, there are some things that cannot be explained in a coaches’ book — it goes beyond the logical pathway of development principles.

What he’s doing, even the game that we saw (against Inter), it’s the moves, the idea, the touch, the feeling. How many coaches have we seen remembering when they were coaches of Messi — ‘What am I going to tell him? He sees better than I do?’

Let’s say I give you the same colours of paint, the same brushes and paper as Leonardo da Vinci when he painted the Mona Lisa. And I tell you: ‘OK, you have the same equipment — do it’. Nobody will do it again. It is something unexplainable to have that level of talent.

But this is the key point. Even the best writers on the planet all went to school and learned how to write the letter A, the letter B, how to write ‘mama’ and ‘papa’. So clearly, they have a talent, but they still need to form the basic tools in order to implement the talent they’ve been given. If Messi had sat on a sofa from eight to 18, he would not be a superstar, no matter what.

It is exceptionally important that even the super-talented players respect the strategical order of the training process — they follow the plans and periodisation. And I think Yamal’s football personality is amazing. So what you see now, at 17, is something given from above — but we see it because he’s been taken into the factory of Barcelona’s principles and discipline.

For example, you see Yamal dribbling, but you do not see Yamal dribbling and taking on players in his own box. That’s because he respects the football principles of Barcelona, being creative where he’s supposed to. He clearly respects the football, he passes when he’s supposed to.

And what is truly exceptional is his football vision, the understanding. That’s why some people can pick up paint and a brush and create something truly amazing. He’s not physically super-dominant. I’ve seen players who are better dribblers. But it’s when he takes on a player one-vs-one and, at the same time, understands what’s happening at the far post and can chip it over. He still respects the rules of football, he does not play for himself.

At this age, he’s so mature, so ripe, so, so good. We’ll see what his limit is. It’s 2025, and he’s only 17. I don’t think he’s going to overtake Messi, but he’ll get close.

Romeo Jozak, former technical director of the Croatian FA. Played a key role in developing their golden generation. Luka Modric’s under-18 coach

‘Pay attention to who the midfielders are’

One day, former Argentina manager Cesar Luis Menotti explained this story in a meeting with his backroom staff in the national team. He was invited to see a training session of a team from Santa Fe. He travelled 600 kilometres to get there, watched the first training session and did not hesitate. The first and only thing he said when he was asked about his opinion was, ‘Bring that guy in, because he’ll win the games for you’. He added nothing else. He didn’t even mention training methodologies, the state of the pitch, the type of exercises the team needed to work on, there was no GPS or wide angle back then. But there’s no better definition of a talented player than this: put him in the starting line-up because he’ll win the game.

With Lamine Yamal, I bet Xavi must have felt the same, even when he made his debut when he was 15.

Yamal replaces Gavi to make his Barcelona debut against Real Betis aged 15 (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

My opinion is that Yamal can play in any game style you can imagine. I’d compare him to Angel Di Maria in that regard. But if he receives the ball coming from the calmness, timing and association of players such as Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, Yamal will certainly progress better. For a winger, there’s nothing like being surrounded by great midfielders. I’m talking about those players who are not rushed and don’t need to run too much behind the ball, in order to activate players like Yamal at the right moment. That’s when he can make the best out of his one-vs-one talent.

We will see if Yamal can be as stable and consistent in the long term as Di Maria. But please, always pay attention to how many and who are the midfielders in his team, because those are the ones who will bring Yamal the ball on the best possible conditions.

Matias Manna, analyst for the Argentina national team

‘He has fun on the pitch’

Yamal is an extraordinary player who displays great dedication to a side of the game that we rarely see anymore. He has outstanding technical ability but also vision and flair — things we don’t encounter much at all in most modern footballers. He has fun on the pitch.

Yamal savours Barcelona’s Copa del Rey victory over Real Madrid (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Becoming a crucial player and contributing to the success of both Barcelona and Spain, at just 17… it’s unprecedented. Despite his age, he demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the game, as well as composure, creativity and enormous dribbling ability.

He solves problems on the field very easily. He disguises what he’s going to do. He is unpredictable but everything is focused on getting to the goal. Fantastic! It is pure joy to watch him play.

Emre Utkucan, director of scouting at Galatasaray

‘Technically, I don’t think there is much room left for improvement’

Two things catch my eye in Yamal’s game from a technical point of view: the balance between his qualities and the stability of his game. It’s normal for even the most talented young players to have one or two standout areas, and others that are less developed or at least inconsistent.

Yamal isn’t just an incredible dribbler and a player with refined technique. He also makes great decisions and is incredibly influential in the final third. He creates chances and can do so many different things with the ball. Beyond that, he is also very reliable: he doesn’t give the ball away much and he knows when it’s necessary to pick a more simple option. It’s not just that he is decisive; he is also a mature player, someone who consistently and intelligently contributes to a match.

A 16-year-old Yamal sends Spain into the Euro 2024 final (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

I don’t see him as just a promising player for the future. Despite his age, he is already elite. He was a key part of Spain’s success at Euro 2024 and is a vitally important player at one of Europe’s top clubs, with a chance to win La Liga and the Champions League.

Technically, I don’t think there is much room left for improvement; his game is already extremely developed and mature. The big question, moving forward, is about consistency. If he continues to maintain this level of performance, season after season, he can really consolidate his position as one of the game’s top stars — and create a legacy.

Jose Boto, technical director at Flamengo. Formerly chief scout at Benfica and head of recruitment at Shakhtar Donetsk

‘Yamal now is more similar to the Yamal of the next ten years’

It’s very difficult to say something new about Yamal because everyone knows his skills. But he’s maybe the best teenager in football history. (Diego) Maradona and Pele were at the same level but other great players like Ronaldo and Messi weren’t at the same level at this age.

But when we saw the first matches of Messi we saw a young player and we could imagine the great player he could become. Yamal is a little bit different as we see an amazing player but I think that the potential is this: sure, as a teenager he has the possibility to improve but I don’t think he has the same huge possibility to improve as Messi had. Yamal now is more similar to the Yamal of the next ten years.

In modern football the defensive organisation, the space, the number of defenders are very detailed and teams are studied. A player like Yamal is a huge point to have as in Inter-Barcelona you saw they don’t defend just with the left back, sometimes it was two or three. There are other parts of the pitch with a lot of space and free players. I think that’s amazing in modern football.

Antonio Gagliardi, Parma assistant manager. Former Italy and Juventus analyst-coach

‘I have never seen a player at his age make such clear decisions’

He is a fantastic player. I think it’s a combination of many things: talent, technique, speed, decision-making, creativity and understanding of spaces. He is not just good in one category. He is outstanding in almost everything.

It looks so simple because he is technically incredibly clean and usually makes the best decision at the right time. I have worked a long time with youth players and I have never seen a player at his age make such clear decisions.

Yamal has the world at his feet (Carl Recine/Getty Images)

But I think it has something to do with the current generation and their environment. They grow up different and they get a unbelievable input. Of course, it also depends on the genetics, but the training starts much earlier. Imagine what their brain is working all the time compared to 20 years ago.

Many have only one or two of the listed components. These are still talents, but the probability that they won’t make it increases naturally.

Ultimately, we all love this sport because of players like him. Everyone wants to marvel at their art.

Stefan Buck, Eintracht Frankfurt assistant manager. Former Bayern Munich II assistant head coach 

‘He has to be taken care of’

Right now we can say that we’re witnessing a 17-year-old boy who has enormous potential if he continues down the right path.

For me Leo has been and continues to be, albeit slightly less today, one of the greatest players ever. His career is a testament to that. For Lamine to continue to grow and one day reach that level, he’ll need help to get there.

What makes Lamine different from other elite players is his self-confidence. At such a young age he carries himself and plays with an incredible amount of composure. But we have to be conscious of his age. He has to be taken care of.

Horacio Gaggioli, the agent who took Messi from Rosario to Barcelona

What top coaches say

“I really enjoy watching him. How he handles the ball in tight spaces and at full speed is fantastic. And on top of that you have his oversight of the game. He’s amazing.”

Niko Kovac, Borussia Dortmund head coach

“He’s an outstanding player, especially at his age. His close ball control is superb and he never uses his fantastic technique to do anything showy — he’s always attacking the goal or looking for the layoff.”

Ralf Rangnick, Austria manager

Contributors: Pol Ballus, Jack Lang, Jordan Campbell, Seb Stafford-Bloor, Felipe Cardenas

Top image: Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images

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