Is Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona record better than Messi’s as a teenager?

Yamal’s 17 goal contributions after 10 games as better than Messi’s in his Ballon d’Or winning season as a teenager. Save Share A string of mazy runs down Barcelona’s right flank, two goal assists within three minutes, and a player of the match award cap off yet another impressive night in European football;Lamine Yamalcontinues to rack up remarkable statistics and mesmerising performances eight weeks into the club football season. While this isn’t Yamal’s breakthrough year by any means – the Spanish forward first burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in the 2023-24 season – his consistency for both club and country in the past eight weeks has led to comparisons with some of the greatest prodigies of recent years. Since returning from the FIFA World Cup as a champion, Yamal has enjoyed scintillating form with the Catalan side. Across the eight match weeks in club football, the 19-year-old has scored eight goals and provided nine assists in his 10 matches in all competitions for Barcelona, bringing his total number of goal contributions to an impressive 17. All-time Barcelona and Argentina great Lionel Messi had 14 goal contributions – eight goals and six assists – to his name in the 2008-09 season, when he won his first Ballon d’Or award as a 19-year-old. Yamal has made no secret of his desire to win the award in 11 days, but he will face stiff competition from French star Kylian Mbappe and England captain Harry Kane. Mbappe, who has broken goal-scoring records of his own, leads the attack at Real Madrid – Barcelona’s fiercest rivals and the undeniable kings of European football. While Real have not won the Champions League since the 2023-24 season, which brought their record-extending 15th trophy, Mbappe helped them beat Italian giants Inter Milan in their first match last month. Before joining Real in 2024, Mbappe was on a goal-scoring spree with French champions Paris Saint-Germain. He joined the club as an 18-year-old in 2017 and enjoyed great success a year later. As a then-19-year-old, Mbappe scored 12 goals and made four assists in his first 10 games, bringing his goal contribution to 16 – one behind Yamal’s current record after the same number of matches. While comparisons between Yamal’s overall career with Messi’s would be grossly unfair, the Spaniard is following in his club legend’s footsteps. Both players enjoy the unique statistic of having scored braces in their first five La Liga games....