Yamal, a Spaniard of Moroccan origin, shined with Barcelona (Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed/Getty)
Considered club officials Barcelona Spaniard Lamine Yamal is the best talent to emerge from the “La Masia” academy after Argentine Lionel MessiHowever, it seems that this comparison is not favored by the coach of the Catalan club, Xavi Hernandez.
The information revealed by a report in the Spanish newspaper “Sport” was strongly responded to by the former Qatari coach of Al-Sadd, when he was asked about comparing Yamal to Messi, where he said: “Any player who is compared to Messi is a loser. It is not good to make this comparison. It is true that he has some similarities.” “He plays with his left foot, goes inside and shoots, and with his age he really makes a difference for us, but I don’t prefer this comparison.”
The beginning of the end for many talents
Many of the talents who shined at the beginning of their career with Barcelona were compared to the legend of the Catalan club, including Ansu Fati, especially since the players rose to the first team from “La Masia” and played early with the first team.
Fati participated in the first match in La Liga, in August 2019, and he was 16 years and 298 days old, becoming the second youngest player to participate in the competition at that time, but after that he suffered a frightening decline in the level of performance, especially after a series of injuries that struck him, and at the end Ultimately, Barca decided to loan him to Brighton, England, last September.
Another experience that may have made Xavi reject this comparison was that of the Spaniard Bojan Krkic, who called him “the next Messi”, where in 2006, when Leo himself was nineteen years old and only two years into his career with Barcelona, Krkic was compared to the Argentine star. .
The player progressed rapidly, before his performance declined and he then left for several trials, where he moved from Barcelona to Stoke City in England, a step he described as one of the most difficult moments in his football career, before landing at Vissel Kobe in Japan and then retiring from the world of football in March. / March 2023, at the age of 32.