Barca centurion Yamal is incredible but Messi comparisons must stop

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Inter tie still alive...

Lamine Yamal played his 100th game for Barcelona against Inter on Wednesday.

Just stop and take that sentence in for a moment.

A player that isn’t 18 until July has already made a century of appearances at the greatest club in the world.

To put that into context, Lionel Messi was 20 years and 248 days, whilst previous youngest centurion, Gavi, was 19 years and 29 days old.

What’s more, they’re not token appearances for Lamine either. Not a 10 minute cameo here and there. He is running the show. Let’s call it as it is.

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Against Inter we saw the full range of his work, both in terms of his unique skill set when attacking, as well as his defensive work when needed.

It is as much down to him as any other that the Champions League tie against Inter is still alive.

The risk of burnout remains of course, but one would hope that the player himself would be mature enough to let the club know as and when he needs a rest.

Barca not being in the Club World Cup this summer actually might well be one of the biggest blessings in disguise for just that reason.

Whilst it’s Pedri that ostensibly oils the wheels, and each player has more than played their part in Barca’s successes this season, it’s Lamine that everyone comes to see.

A player, much like Messi, that gets fans off their seats and who, whilst unpredictable at times, can be relied upon to deliver the goods time and again.

His sensational record this season in all competitions stands at an astonishing 15 goals and 20 assists, numbers that a player much more experienced than the teen talent would be more than happy with.

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However, maybe the one thing we need to do is to bring the tone of the conversation around him back down and stop comparing Lamine to Lionel.

It’s inevitable I suppose, however, it does the former no good at all at this stage of his career.

If and when he has won a Ballon d’Or or two, has continued to play at the highest levels possible consistently for a few seasons, then it will be time to let the comparisons begin.

He’s a young man that has put a smile back on the faces of anyone with a passion for Barca and that in itself is worth its weight in gold, given where the club were both on and off the pitch a few years ago.

There’s genuine hope of a much brighter future now, and one that’s spearheaded by yet another generational left-footed Barca talent.

Until then, let’s just enjoy him. Period.

Source: barcablaugranes.com