Steven Gerrard believes Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal is further advanced at 19 than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were at the same stage of their careers.
The former Liverpool captain made the assessment after Yamal’s remarkable rise, comparing the teenager with Ronaldo, now of Al Nassr, and Messi, who plays for Inter Miami.
Speaking on The Overlap Daily, Gerrard said: “He is more advanced than Ronaldo was at 19. I played against Messi when I was young, and Lamine may be more advanced than Messi was too.”
Gerrard believes Yamal has the potential to reach the level achieved by both players if he continues to develop.
However, the former Liverpool captain warned that maintaining his current drive and matching the consistency shown by the two footballing greats will be the biggest challenge facing the young Barcelona player.
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