“I would have one on each side of my team” - Sergio Aguero backs Barcelona star Lamine Yamal as more talented than Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr

Former striker Sergio Aguero has named Barcelona star Lamine Yamal as more talented than Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr. Both players are widely considered among the best talents in world football today.

Aguero's comments come ahead of Yamal facing Vini Jr. in Barcelona's clash against Real Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday (October 26). The duo have faced each other four times for club and country, three of which were El Clasicos. The fourth game was a 3-3 international friendly draw between Brazil and Spain. However, Yamal is yet to win a game against the Brazil star, with Barca losing all three El Clasicos last season.

In an interview with Mundo Deportivo via Stake, former Barcelona striker Sergio Kun Aguero revealed that he prefers Lamine Yamal over Vinicius Jr. He said (via Barca Universal):

“In style of play, speaking of talent, Lamine has much more than Vinicius although Vinicius has more experience and is more of a player with titles won with Madrid. Vinicius is one of the ‘top 3’ in the world but for age and talent, I prefer Lamine more."

Aguero added:

"If it were up to me, I would have one on each side of my team and let the opponent pray. It’s like when Messi and Neymar were together."

Lamine Yamal rose to prominence from Barca's academy, La Masia. The youngster made his senior-team debut in April 2023 in La Blaugrana's 4-0 win over Real Betis in LaLiga at 15 years of age. The Spaniard became a prominent starter for the Catalan side in the 2023-24 season. In 64 appearances for Barca, Yamal has recorded 12 goals and 16 assists across competitions.

Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr. moved to Real Madrid from Brazilian side Flamengo in 2018. In 278 appearances for Los Blancos, he has recorded 91 goals and 82 assists. He has also won two Champions League and three LaLiga titles with the club. Vini Jr. is one of the favorites to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or, having won the UCL, LaLiga and Supercopa de Espana last season.

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Barcelona star Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr. both idolize Neymar

Spain v Brazil - International Friendly - Source: Getty

Despite playing for rival sides, Barcelona ace Lamine Yamal and Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. share their love for Neymar Jr. in common. Both players have publicly admitted to idolizing the Brazil superstar in multiple interviews.

In an interview with LaLiga TV this week, Yamal said (via Barca Universal):

"My role model? Neymar. I used to watch all his videos, also Messi of course he is always the best, but I liked Neymar's style a lot."

Vinicius Jr. shared similar sentiments about Neymar, having shared the pitch 16 times with his idol for Brazil. The duo have one joint-goal contribution together. In a 2019 interview with Fox Sports, Vini Jr. said (via MARCA):

"Neymar is my idol and I try to imitate many things that he does on the pitch. He does things like nobody else on the pitch."

With El Clasico coming up this weekend (October 26), it remains to be seen how Vinicius and Yamal perform for their respective sides. The Real Madrid ace notably scored a hat-trick against Barcelona last season in their 4-1 win in the Supercopa de Espana final.