Former Barcelona and current Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has spoken out about the comparisons between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal.
Luis Enrique managed Messi at Barcelona a decade ago, winning the UEFA Champions League together. He was also a former Barcelona player, who got his start as a manager coaching Barcelona B.
He hasn’t managed Yamal, but he will face him when PSG play Barça in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Luis Enrique played down the comparisons between Yamal and Messi, who are seemingly always linked.
“I think what Lamine is doing very well is that he wants to be Lamine Yamal. He is improving various aspects of his game,” he said. “Comparing Messi—the greatest player of all time—to any other player… no one is going to come out on top against him.
“Lamine wants to be the best version of Lamine, and it’s better not to compare oneself to others. He is very intelligent,” the manager said.
Yamal himself has resisted the comparison. Last year, when he was told a goal he scored against Club Brugge was similar to a Messi goal, the youngster said, “I can’t compare myself with Messi. He’s scored thousands of goals like that. I have to make my own way and hope to score many more goals like that. I try to do the best I can.”
A year prior, Yamal said: “He is the greatest player in history, and being compared to him is incredible. There is no one who can be compared to him, least of all me, since I’m just starting out. I only wish I could have half the career he’s had.”
Interestingly, Messi and Yamal were linked at a very early age. When the Argentine was a teenage sensation for Barcelona, he bathed a then-unknown baby Yamal for a charity calendar.