Barcelona’s young star Lamine Yamal has said he has no intention of being “the new Lionel Messi”, despite many comparing him to the legendary Argentine.
The talented 18-year-old points out that he wants to build his own path in professional football, without the burden of expectations that carry comparisons with one of the greatest of all time.
Yamal has already been frequently linked with Messi, both came through La Masia, play on the right wing and share certain similarities in style of play.
However, the young Spaniard, who took second place in the Ballon d’Or this year, emphasizes that he does not like that label.
“I knew the question was going to come,” he told CBS’ 60 Minutes.
“I respect him for everything he was and is for football. If we ever meet on the field, it will be a meeting with mutual respect, because for me he is the best in history. He knows that I am just a player, I respect him, but I don’t want to be Messi, and Messi knows that I don’t want to be him. I want to follow my own path and that’s it. I have no intention of playing like him or wearing the number ten he wore,” he said.
Although he accidentally inherited Messi’s “ten” at Barcelona this season, Yamal says there are still segments of his game that were shaped by watching Messi.
Most of all, he says, he is fascinated by the way the Argentine shared the ball.
“It’s strange, as a child I didn’t dribble much. I ran a lot, scored a lot, but I always had a good vision of the game. Watching Messi, I noticed that he sent different passes. I saw good passers, long balls and the like, but Messi gave passes that were like goals, often with the outside of the foot. That was the most interesting to me. I saw the same with Modrić. That seemed smarter than dribbling to me,” he said.
(Vijesti.ba)
