Barcelona‘s Lamine Yamal brought up his first century of first-team appearances for the Catalan club on Wednesday, and he hasn’t even turned 18.
As if to mark the milestone, Yamal put in an impressive performance in the UEFA Champions League as Barça twice came from behind in a hugely entertaining 3-3 draw with Internazionale in the first leg of their semifinal.
The Spain international scored Barça’s first goal of the night to become the youngest player ever to hit the net in a Champions League semifinal, having already broken new ground this season by becoming the youngest goal scorer in both a Champions League round-of-16 tie and a quarterfinal.
At 17 years and 291 days, he is also the second-youngest player to start in a Champions League semifinal behind Julian Draxler, who was 65 days Yamal’s junior for Schalke 04 against Manchester United in May 2011.
Having scored in three successive rounds, Yamal has amassed more Champions League goals before his 18th birthday than any other player, having already scored five times in the competition. His nearest rivals are teammate Ansu Fati and Arsenal‘s Ethan Nwaneri, who both mustered two goals apiece in the competition before they were eligible to vote.
Of course, with records, accolades and goals aplenty, you don’t need us to tell you that Yamal is a special talent. However, having reached the 100-game mark, it’s worth comparing his progress with a handful of other phenoms-turned-superstars at the same point in their respective senior careers.
2:01
Burley: Lamine Yamal is ‘out of this world’
Craig Burley was full of praise Lamine Yamal after the 17-year-old scored in Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal.
Lamine Yamal
Age on 100th appearance: 17 years, 292 days (April 30, 2025)
Minutes played: 6,859
Goals: 22
Assists: 27
Club trophies: 3
He’s only two full seasons into his professional career and Yamal can already boast being a league and cup winner with Barcelona, as well as the European Championship with Spain. Since his pro debut in 2023 at the age of 15, the fleet-footed forward has quickly become an integral part of the Barça attack. enjoying his most productive campaign to date having pitched in with 15 goals and 20 assists in 49 games as his side remain on course for a league, cup and European treble. “Flying start” is the phrase that instantly springs to mind.
1:31
‘The stars align!’: Photographer recalls viral Messi-Yamal photos
Joan Monfort recalls when he photographed Lionel Messi holding Lamine Yamal as a baby.
Age: 20 years, 248 days (Feb. 27, 2008)
Minutes: 6,747
Goals: 41
Assists: 14
Club trophies: 5
When it comes to Yamal’s meteoric progress, the obvious comparison to make would be to Messi. Barça’s all-time top scorer actually took a few years longer to reach 100 games for the Catalans having been more steadily incorporated into the first team. Just a few months before he reached 100 games, Messi was pictured holding a baby Yamal in a slightly odd charity calendar photoshoot.
2:09
‘Ronaldo owes me a great deal’ Shaka Hislop on Cristiano’s first Man Utd goal
Shaka Hislop reminisces on his part of the Cristiano Ronaldo story, conceding the first goal he scored for Manchester United.
Age: 19 years, 348 days (Jan. 19, 2005)
Minutes: 5,785
Goals: 13
Assists: 13
Club trophies: 2
Having only broken into the Sporting CP first team at 17, Ronaldo had scored just five senior goals before his 18th birthday — a mere fraction of Yamal’s tally. However, despite being relatively slow to get going in terms of sheer numbers and trophies, Ronaldo soon began to hit his stride under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United where he managed to win the FA Cup before bringing up his 100th career game (coincidentally in the same competition, scoring his 20th career goal away against Exeter City in the third round.) This was in addition to the Super Cup he managed to win with Sporting during his brief 19-game stint in the Portuguese top flight. Of course, Ronaldo more than made up for lost time and the goals, records and accolades soon began to rain at United, Real Madrid and beyond.
Age: 19 years, 119 days (April 18, 2018)
Minutes: 6,410
Goals: 48
Assists: 29
Club trophies: 3
After breaking through on a wave of hype as part of AS Monaco‘s Ligue 1 title-winning upstarts of 2016-17, and quickly securing a huge transfer to Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 18, Mbappé was already well on his way to superstardom when he made his 100th career appearance for Les Parisiens against Bordeaux in Ligue 1 toward the end of the 2017-18 season. The young striker more than lived up to his billing too, scoring a raft of goals and laying on almost as many assists in that time as his club conquered all to win a quadruple of domestic trophies in the same campaign.
Age: 19 years, 212 days (Feb. 18, 2020)
Minutes: 5,948
Goals: 60
Assists: 15
Club trophies: 2
The most prolific striker in a generation, Haaland marked his 100th career appearance in typical fashion — by scoring twice for Borussia Dortmund in their 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League round of 16, before celebrating by sitting cross-legged in his trademark “zen” pose on the Parc des Princes pitch. The brace took Haaland’s phenomenal season tally to 11 goals in seven games for the German club, despite only joining them from RB Salzburg the previous month, and 39 goals in 29 games overall. He has since set new Champions League records by becoming the quickest player ever to reach 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 goals in the competition, as well as winning the Treble with Manchester City and Golden Boots aplenty.
1:19
Santos announce Neymar return: ‘The Prince is back!’
Brazilian side Santos announce Neymar’s return to the club with a video honouring Pele’s legacy.
Age: 18 years, 251 days (Oct. 17, 2010)
Minutes: 6,944
Goals: 48
Assists: 27
Club trophies: 2
Neymar had very nearly reached a half-century of senior goals when he played the 100th game of his nascent career at Santos. The gifted young striker went straight into the first team in 2009 at the age of just 16 and immediately lit up the Brazilian Serie A with his trickery, poise and creative ability. Santos finished runners-up in Neymar’s debut season but he went onto win three consecutive Campeonato Paulista titles with his boyhood club before Barcelona came calling in the summer of 2013.
