The last couple of years have seen Lamine Yamal burst onto the scene and emerge as a very exciting talent for Barcelona. The youngster is the best teenager in all of football right now and has taken to the senior game seamlessly. The Spaniard has already played 100 games for the La Liga club, despite still being just 17 years of age, and he's recorded 55 goal contributions in that time. The world has quickly taken notice of the star, but he's far from the worst explosive offensive talent to play for the Catalan giants.
In fact, he named three men who shone for the team that he grew up idolising and it is a real who's who of elite players. With quotes shared via Planet Football, he picked his three idols and there won't be many people who can take issue with any other the stars that he named.
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Lionel Messi
Barcelona games: 778
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Starting off with the most obvious, you'd be hard pressed to find any young footballer right now who didn't idolise Lionel Messi in some fashion or another while growing up. The Argentine is the greatest player of all time and torched defenders unlike anyone the beautiful game has ever seen. Over the course of 778 games with Barcelona, Messi scored an astonishing 672 goals and chalked up a further 303 assists.
He's the club's all-time leading scorer and undoubtedly their greatest player. Speaking about the now-Inter Miami man, Yamal admitted his admiration for him, but claimed he wouldn't compare himself with Messi and said: "I don’t compare myself to him, because I don’t compare myself to anyone, and much less with Messi. I don’t think the comparison makes sense. With Messi even less, I’m going to enjoy myself, and be myself. I admire him obviously, as the best player in history, but I don’t compare myself to him."
Neymar
Barcelona games: 186
Neymar champions league
The next player that Yamal named as one of his idols is a former teammate of Messi's in Neymar. The Brazilian made a name for himself as one of the most exciting players in the world during his time with Santos and it earned him a move to Barcelona in 2013. He quickly settled in at Camp Nou and alongside Messi and Luis Suarez, he formed one of the greatest trios in football history.
Few players have the ability to create the sort of magic that Neymar can with the ball at his feet and Yamal was a huge fan of his growing up. So much so, in fact, that the 17-year-old once named the Brazilian as the player he idolised the most. Speaking about Neymar, the youngster said: "We would meet after school at a friend’s house because he had a computer. We would put on videos of Neymar and we would watch all afternoon and then I would sleep at home and I would do that at home in my room."
Ronaldinho
Barcelona games: 207
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The last player that Yamal revealed as one of his idols was Ronaldinho. Before Messi and Neymar, the Brazilian was the most exciting talent to grace the Barcelona turf in decades. He was the ultimate showman and delighted from torturing opposition defenders with his silky skills on the ball. There was no level to which his showboating wouldn't reach. He's considered one of the most technically gifted footballers of all-time and for good reason.
He won the Ballon d'Or award during his time with Barcelona and played a total of 207 games for them. He scored 94 goals and assisted a further 69 over the course of a five-year stint with them. Speaking about Ronaldinho and why he idolised him, Yamal said: "Mainly for his fun style, his way of living the game…always trying something new."
Considering he was born just one year before Ronaldinho left Barcelona, Yamal didn't have the chance to watch the star live in his prime, but has clearly gone back and revisited his time at the club.
At the rate Yamal is currently developing at, there's a good chance he'll be a bigger Barcelona legend than at least two of his idols by the time he hangs his boots up sometime down the line. He'll have to do the unthinkable if he's to surpass Messi's legacy at Camp Nou, but only time will tell whether he's up to that task or not.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and accurate as of 03/05/2025