"Annoying these days" - Former Barcelona star not interested in Lamine Yamal getting compared with Lionel Messi

Former Barcelona star David Villa believes it is unnecessary to compare Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi. The 17-year-old exploded onto the scene last season with the Catalans, registering seven goals and seven assists from 50 games across competitions.

Yamal has continued his spectacular rise this campaign, scoring 10 times and setting up 14 more from 28 appearances across competitions. His efforts have helped Barcelona win the Supercopa de Espana this campaign, prompting comparisons with Lionel Messi.

Like the diminutive Argentine icon, Yamal also rose through the ranks at Camp Nou before earning his first team bow at a young age. There are similarities between their styles of play, with both operating on the right forward role and preferring to dribble past opponents.

Speaking to AS, however, Villa insisted that comparing any player with Lionel Messi was 'annoying.'

“I think comparing any player with Messi is annoying these days. Lamine Yamal is already a world-class player. And the fans clearly have the right to be excited about him, but I don’t think it’s necessary to compare him with Messi because he’s going to have a very good career,” Villa said (via Inter Miami News).

Yamal's contract with Barcelona expires in 2026, but the player has already revealed that he will sign a new deal with the club. However, the Spaniard can only sign the contract once he turns 18 in July this year.

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How many goals did Lionel Messi score for Barcelona?

Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is Barcelona's record goalscorer and has found the back of the net 672 times from 778 games. The Argentine legend also has the most assists for the club, setting up 303 goals during his stay at Camp Nou.

La Pulga's first goal for the Catalans senior side was scored in the 2004-05 season against Albacete in the league. Ronaldinho had set him up in the first minute of second-half injury time to mark the start of a golden run.

Since then, the 37-year-old has broken multiple goalscoring records for the club. Messi won six of his eight Ballons d'Or and all of his six European Golden Shoes with Barcelona.

The Argentine superstar's last goal for the Catalans came in the 2-1 league defeat against Celta Vigo at Camp Nou in the 2020-21 campaign. The LaLiga giants failed to renew his contract at the end of the season and La Pulga ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as a free agent in the summer of 2021.