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A string of mazy runs down Barcelona’s right flank, two goal assists within three minutes, and a player of the match award cap off yet another impressive night in European football; Lamine Yamal continues to rack up remarkable statistics and mesmerising performances eight weeks into the club football season.

While this isn’t Yamal’s breakthrough year by any means – the Spanish forward first burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in the 2023-24 season – his consistency for both club and country in the past eight weeks has led to comparisons with some of the greatest prodigies of recent years.

Since returning from the FIFA World Cup as a champion, Yamal has enjoyed scintillating form with the Catalan side.

Across the eight match weeks in club football, the 19-year-old has scored eight goals and provided nine assists in his 10 matches in all competitions for Barcelona, bringing his total number of goal contributions to an impressive 17.

All-time Barcelona and Argentina great Lionel Messi had 14 goal contributions – eight goals and six assists – to his name in the 2008-09 season, when he won his first Ballon d’Or award as a 19-year-old.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal vs Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe

Yamal has made no secret of his desire to win the award in 11 days, but he will face stiff competition from French star Kylian Mbappe and England captain Harry Kane.

Mbappe, who has broken goal-scoring records of his own, leads the attack at Real Madrid – Barcelona’s fiercest rivals and the undeniable kings of European football.

While Real have not won the Champions League since the 2023-24 season, which brought their record-extending 15th trophy, Mbappe helped them beat Italian giants Inter Milan in their first match last month.

Before joining Real in 2024, Mbappe was on a goal-scoring spree with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. He joined the club as an 18-year-old in 2017 and enjoyed great success a year later.

As a then-19-year-old, Mbappe scored 12 goals and made four assists in his first 10 games, bringing his goal contribution to 16 – one behind Yamal’s current record after the same number of matches.

The master Messi vs apprentice Yamal?

While comparisons between Yamal’s overall career with Messi’s would be grossly unfair, the Spaniard is following in his club legend’s footsteps.

Both players enjoy the unique statistic of having scored braces in their first five La Liga games. Messi’s came as a 25-year-old in the 2012-13 season, while Yamal has achieved the same feat this season.

In April 2007, Messi scored his famous solo goal against Getafe, dribbling from his own half past five players as Camp Nou watched in awe.

Three months later, Lamine Yamal was born, and not long after, Messi was seen with baby Yamal in a photo that went viral this year.

The hype reached fever pitch during the World Cup as a young Messi bathed baby Yamal during a TV commercial. At first, many thought it was an AI-generated image, but it’s indeed real and dates back to 2007.

During a UNICEF fundraising shoot at Camp Nou stadium, a 20-year-old Messi met Yamal, who was only five months old at the time.

The two Barcelona stars faced off in the World Cup final on July 19, with the Argentinian walking away in tears as Yamal’s Spain lifted the trophy, but not before they exchanged a warm embrace.

Yamal later revealed what he said to Messi on the pitch in New York.

“I said thank you for everything you gave football,” Yamal told a British newspaper.

Before the final, much of the attention had centred on the battle between 39-year-old Messi and 19-year-old Yamal, with the match likened to a master vs apprentice clash.

Nineteen years on from that iconic photo, Yamal is already chasing Messi’s Barcelona milestones. Here’s how old each of them was when they played their 150th game for the club.

Barcelona boss says ‘Everyone’s watching Lamine’

During the current season, Yamal’s incredible goal tally overshadows that of three other La Liga teams.

His seven individual goals in the league are more than what Valencia (six), Getafe (four) and Malaga (four) have managed as teams.

The forward’s form and skills are not lost on his manager, Hansi Flick.

The Barcelona boss heaped praise on his number 10 after the 4-1 win over Galatasaray in Istanbul.

“When you see the chances Lamine creates in every training session, it’s the same in matches. I have a lot of top-quality players. Everyone’s watching Lamine – that’s only natural.”

“It’s incredible to have players like that; he’s turned the game around for us.”

Barcelona’s sporting director Deco said the club has no interest in pursuing Manchester United teenager JJ Gabriel.

Gabriel, 15, travelled to the Spanish city after informing United that he wanted to leave Old Trafford earlier this month.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain are among the clubs reportedly keen on securing his signature.

“There’s nothing to say about this boy,” Deco said at a news conference.

“It’s normal we always have players linked with us. There’s a huge market for that, even when they are young.

“We are not interested in any player in his situation. I’m not sure what’s happening, and if he’s still a Manchester United player. We are not involved in that.

“First of all, we need to understand how the situation is before we try to do something. To speak about young, teenage players, it is not our business.”

Gabriel has not trained at United since scoring a hat-trick on his Uefa Youth League debut on 10 September.

Tournament rules prevent him from playing for a side other than United in this season’s competition.

But if he obtains a European Union passport through either his father – a former Republic of Ireland international – or mother, who has Greek-Cypriot heritage, he could join a club in the EU when he turns 16 on 6 October.

Last week, United manager Michael Carrick urged for people to be “careful and sensible” about the amount of exposure and scrutiny given to the youngster.