Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte believes Spain international of Moroccan descent Lamine Yamal has become a nightmare to defenders, as the rising Barcelona star makes his rivals tremble with fear.
At just 18 years old, the teenage sensation continues to rise in value, and has drawn further comparisons with Argentina’s Lionel Messi, as their dribbling abilities are considered similar.
Speaking in an interview, the Spanish defender heaped praise on Yamal, while liking his style of play to the legendary Messi.
“With the ball at his feet, it’s something extraordinary. There isn’t a left-back in the world who can say ‘Come on, dribble past me, let’s see if you can.’ Everyone is afraid, everyone defends by retreating, and that’s what results.”
“It’s somewhat similar to what people thought about Messi when he played one-on-one: Let’s see where he’ll come out, what he’ll do, will he cut inside, will he accelerate, will he stop, will he retreat, will he shoot from a distance, will he pass the ball to his teammate?”
Meanwhile, Yamal seeks to distance himself from the ongoing controversy surrounding Messi, having been compared to the Argentine star since leaving the same La Masia academy, and believes that emulating the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner would be “impossible”.
“I think Lionel Messi is the best footballer of all time, but he also knows that I am a good player. There will be mutual respect if we play against each other. He knows that I am not trying to be like him, or to play like him, or to wear the number 10 like him. I want to go my own way”
This season, Yamal has made 31 appearances across competitions for Barcelona, scoring 15 goals and providing 13 assists.
At the international level, Yamal, who also has Equatorial descent has made 23 appearances for Spain, scoring six goals in the process.
