Frenkie de Jong has been talking about Lamine Yamal after the teenager’s stellar season for Barcelona and Spain.
Yamal won three trophies with Barcelona and is now [aiming for Nations League glory with Spain](https://www.barcablaugranes.com/2025/6/5/24443994/lamine-yamal-dazzles-as-spain-beat-france-to-reach-nations-league-final).
De Jong says [Yamal seems unaffected by his success](https://www.barcablaugranes.com/2025/6/6/24444001/barcelona-and-spain-star-lamine-yamal-happy-to-do-his-ballon-dor-talking-on-the-pitch) so far and is definitely keeping his feet on the ground.
> “So far, definitely. He just keeps working, is cheerful and doesn’t act any different than he did at the beginning of the season. So far, that’s all good,” he told De Telegraaf.
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> “Furthermore, I hope that he continues to develop as he has in the past year and a half and continues to play so carefree. That’s also nice for me as a fellow player.”
Perhaps inevitably, De Jong was also asked about comparisons between Lionel Messi and Yamal and offered the following response.
> “Two great players, both really great. And Lamine is still so young. When I was seventeen I was in Jong Willem II and I was allowed to play for the first team every now and then,” he explaiend.
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> “For me Messi is better now, but because Lamine is still so super young, you don’t know how he will develop in the coming years. He has a lot of talent.”
Yamal and Spain face Portugal later today in the final of the Nations League.