Lamine Yamal tipped to become 'better than Lionel Messi' by Emmanuel Petit, who says Barcelona starlet could beat record of eight Ballon d'Or wins
Published 08/07/2025 at 13:45 GMT+1
Lamine Yamal has been tipped to become better than Lionel Messi and break the Argentinian's Ballon d'Or record of eight wins by 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit. The former Barcelona midfielder tipped the Spanish wonderkid to thrive in the No. 10 shirt at the Camp Nou, after Ansu Fati's departure to Monaco all-but confirmed Yamal would become the next player to follow in Messi's footsteps.
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Former Barcelona midfielder Emmanuel Petit has heaped praise on winger Lamine Yamal, backing him to become better than Lionel Messi and win the Ballon d’Or many times.
Petit made the move to the Camp Nou in the summer of 2000 after a hugely successful three years at Arsenal, where he won the Premier League and FA Cup.
In the same summer, he also starred with France at the European Championship, to add to the World Cup he won two years prior.
Zinedine Zidane was named Player of the Tournament that year, with 22-year-old David Trezeguet scoring the winning goal in extra time.
Fast-forward to Euro 2024, and all the talk was about one teenager – Lamine Yamal.
The starlet of La Masia made waves with Spain last summer, beginning the tournament at just 16 years and 338 days old, making him the youngest player to feature at a European Championship.
In that match against Croatia, he also became the youngest player to register an assist.
It was just the beginning for Yamal, who went on to score the goal of the tournament in the 2-1 semi-final win over France, and provided assists in the last-16 win over Georgia, quarter-final win over Germany and in the victory over England in the final.
That saw him become both the youngest player to register a goal involvement in a major tournament final and have the joint-record for most assists at a single edition of the Euros.
Unsurprisingly, he was named Young Player of the Tournament and, having broken so many records already, Petit can only think of one player he compares to.
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Speaking to Escapist Magazine, he said: "I can’t name a player that has been as impressive as him at his age, every time he touches the ball something happens.
"You’d think he was 28 and in his prime. He dribbles past players like it’s the PlayStation and he makes defenders look like cones, he has such a high ceiling.
"He could become even better than Messi. Messi won eight Ballons d’Or; Yamal will have motivation to go even further, he’s a joy to watch."
Players have come before Yamal as the successor to Messi’s intimidating Barcelona No. 10 jersey.
Ansu Fati had a similar trajectory to Yamal, making his debut for Barcelona aged 16 and lifting two La Liga titles, taking Messi’s shirt number when he left for Paris Saint-Germain.
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Injuries hampered him, though, and he soon found himself on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion, before struggling so much for a place in Hansi Flick’s side last year that he has found himself sent on loan again, this time to Monaco, with an option to buy.
Yamal, meanwhile, has thrived under Flick, backing up his incredible Euros campaign with a sublime season across all competitions for the Catalan giants, scoring 18 goals and registering 25 assists in 55 matches on the way to the domestic double.
Now with Fati out of the picture, Yamal is expected to become the next player to be trusted with the No. 10 at the Camp Nou, something Petit expects will boost his Ballon d’Or chances.
"With Ansu Fati going on loan to Monaco they are a team to watch, but I assume that Lamine Yamal wants to be like Lionel Messi which is partly why he wants the 10 shirt," the Frenchman added.
"He plays on the right wing and there are some similarities, 10 is a special number for Barcelona and he will also be keen to fight for the Ballon d’Or.
"I think the Ballon d’Or is his main reason for wanting the No. 10. He is 17 and he is already thinking about it. He is a tremendous footballer. "
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