A couple of words of warning for those who will take advantage of Lamine Yamal‘s performance in Spain‘s UEFA Nations League final defeat to Portugal to put the kid down because they think he’s been overhyped: Firstly, pound for pound, he is still significantly the best footballer in the world, a genuine phenomenon and worthy of the description “budding genius.” Secondly, this guy is made of the same extraordinary stuff, the same resolute “I’ll show you!” determination and drive that made Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo such legends.
Please be clear: those who choose this moment to try to cut him down to size will be forced to eat their words very quickly. I know these people exist because I spoke to one of them in the past few days, a UEFA Champions League-winning manager at that — and there are more.
I’ve also had the chance to analyze Yamal at pretty close quarters.
Over the past 15 months, I’ve interviewed him for something like an hour-and-a-half, composed of two 30-minute television interviews and several postmatch stand-up interviews. I want you to be clear that this devastatingly talented, explosive footballer has a streetwise, hard-nosed, high-octane mentality.
The days before Spain lost to Portugal were packed with every media representative (from a huge international array) asking any player whose ear they could bend — Spanish, French, German or Portuguese — whether Yamal should win the Ballon d’Or in September.
Then, not only did the Barcelona youngster fail to win the match singlehandedly, Ronaldo played a big role in Portugal becoming the first team to win this tournament twice. (Yamal played a role in both Spain goals, put two fierce shots on target and set up Nico Williams for a huge chance, but hey, who cares about facts anymore?)
For the haters, it was a chance for: See! The proper order his been restored. Back in your box. young pup! The media was full of those who thought Yamal disrespected Portugal in how quickly he left the pitch once the trophy was presented. What will happen now is that the 17-year-old (who has 74 career goals and assists) will go away and nurse his wrath.
His main Ballon d’Or competitors (Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Vitinha) will now embark on a few weeks of highly draining, unnecessary FIFA football in the blistering hot temperatures of the U.S. summer and, by definition, will have their summer rest — and preseason preparation — gnawed away at. Again.
Meanwhile, the teenage prodigy will celebrate his 18th birthday on vacation. He’ll rest. He’ll recuperate. He will assimilate the extraordinary experiences he’s been through over this past year. And he’ll plan his assault on all the club and individual trophies that are available to him in the coming 12 months — including the World Cup.
In other words, he’s going to start the 2025-26 season in good mental and physical shape and he’s going to be driven by that “I’ll show all of you!” attitude that I warned you about. It’s a trait he definitely shares with Ronaldo and Messi.
I’ll explain.
Ronaldo has a similar story.
Do you remember that while at Manchester United, his teammates mercilessly teased him for his imperfect complexion, for his choice of clothes, for the state of his teeth and then eventually for his unwillingness to deliver the ball into the middle when they — particularly Ruud van Nistelrooy — wanted it? These experiences reduced Ronaldo to tears. Speak to those ex-Man United teammates now and they’ll tell you that Ronaldo soaked up all the mockery and used it to transform himself into a frighteningly dominant team leader — at United, at Real Madrid and for Portugal.
Yamal will do the same.
Elimination in the Champions League semifinal to Inter Milan will have been sore, but the 17-year-old played absolutely beautifully and with almost supernatural competitive aggression in both legs against the Italians. Sunday’s final will have a slightly different impact.
Just when many around him were lacking fizz, invention and efficacy, their prodigious young tyro couldn’t produce enough magic. Take my word for it, in the next few weeks, many in football or the media (let alone social media) will trumpet that he’s not quite Ballon d’Or material yet.
Meanwhile, this street fighter will be watching, resenting, setting new targets and enjoying his first chance of assimilating everything he’s gone through since breaking into Barcelona’s first team at the age of 15.
When I interviewed him for the second of our longer chats, this past spring, Yamal re-watched our conversation from the previous year.
2:02
Are Yamal and Doué the next Messi and Ronaldo?
Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate whether comparisons between Lamine Yamal and Désiré Doué with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are “premature”.
“You can really notice a lot of changes: my hair, my body, my face, everything. Even the way I answered questions,” he said. “It was all new to me, but now I’m more used to it.
“I think I’ve changed a lot; maybe not in terms of my personality, but on the outside, what’s visible. I’m proud of how I was a year ago. The thing is, I’ve got more belief and more resources than before.”
He’s charting his own development, and he knows it’s accelerating.
It wasn’t long after this interview, during which he admitted that Nuno Mendes had been his toughest one-on-one rival, that Yamal announced: “To those who say I’m cocky, I say that as long as I win, you can’t say anything to me.” And he used social media to mock Rafael van der Vaart, who’d criticized Yamal after Spain eliminated Netherlands from the Nations League.
Now he’s dealing with defeat and derision. Now another part of his remarkable character will by accelerated.
It will take a long time, if ever, for Yamal to match the statistics and the silverware of Messi and Ronaldo, but their mentalities? He’s about to start demonstrating that he’s made from the same stuff.
