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Except for Pelé, at 17 years old none of the great stars in the history of football had achieved what the FC Barcelona winger has already done.
Comparisons are always odious. And even more so when talking about a player who is only 17 years old, with a whole career still to complete. However, Lamine Yamal transcends the natural. After his exhibition against Inter Milan in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, his name is on everyone's lips. Lamine not only scored a goal and hit the crossbar twice, but he also displayed many moments of quality and drew praise from rivals, teammates, and great figures in football. And all this on the day he celebrated his first 100 games in the FC Barcelona shirt, even though he was still a minor.
At his age, none of the greatest figures in football history, current or past, with the exception of Pelé, had achieved what Lamine has already achieved.
For example, Leo Messi, the greatest player in the history of football and the greatest icon of Barça throughout its 125-year history, at just 17 years old, had only played nine games and scored one goal, without providing any assists. Cristiano Ronaldo, the other great figure in football of the last two decades, had not stood out particularly either. The Portuguese had played 19 games, scored five goals, and provided four assists.
If we go back to the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, where two world-class figures like Johan Cruyff and Diego Armando Maradona stood out, neither the Dutchman nor the Argentine star came close to achieving Lamine Yamal's achievements at 17 years of age. Cruyff had only played 10 games for Ajax, in which he had scored four goals and provided two assists.
Diego Armando Maradona, meanwhile, is the man who could be closest to matching Lamine's stats in his first 100 games for Barça. "El Pibe," with Argentinos Juniors, had reached 60 games, with 21 goals and 15 assists. However, unlike Lamine—who already has a European Championship, a League Cup, a Copa del Rey, and a Super Cup—his trophy cabinet didn't include a single title.
However, comparing Lamine with Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pelé, is a significant step forward. The Brazilian star is the only great figure in the history of football who is older than Lamine Yamal at the Barça forward's current age. At 17, Pelé had not only already won a World Cup (Sweden 1958, the Brazilian turned 18 on October 30 of that year), but in his first season with Santos he played 'only' 38 games, in which he scored a whopping 41 goals, a scoring figure that far exceeds Lamine's 22 in his first 100 games as a Barça player.
Still, the future ahead for Lamine is formidable, and only he knows how far he'll be able to go. Time will determine his place, although for now, with his performance against Inter, the young Barça winger has already presented himself as a candidate for the next Ballon d'Or.
See You soon!
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