He might not (officially) be the best footballer on the planet yet, but he will be. He might not win the Ballon d’Or this year, but at just under 18 years old, Lamine Yamal is already top 5 in Europe. A kid, yet a monster. With slender legs, yet capable of shaking the ground beneath your feet.Forget the stats — 18 goals and 25 assists (including won penalties) across all competitions. The kind of football Spain’s gem plays leaves jaws on the floor, and the impact he has before even turning 18 is astonishing.Old coaching wolf Capello makes it clear: “Yamal deserves Ballon d’Or”Remember how the entire Barcelona team looked to him when they needed one goal at the Giuseppe Meazza to push the game against Inter into penalties. Barca played the closing minutes with the strategy: “Give the ball to Yamal and see what happens.” Just like the club once relied on Lionel Messi. That day, Inter had only one player capable of stopping Yamal — goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Barcelona was eliminated, but one football legend — one of the greatest — was left in awe of what he had witnessed.Lamine Yamal with a world-class shot, Yann Sommer with a world-class save 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IrucRsSmZG— OneFootball (@OneFootball) May 6, 2025 Zinedine Zidane was the very embodiment of footballing elegance, and he remains so even two decades after retiring. So when such a magician says he’s never seen anything like Yamal, that’s a compliment of rare magnitude.”The second half from Lamine Yamal against Inter… I’ve never seen anything like it in my life! For someone to have such control on the pitch — it’s astounding. We all enjoy watching him play,” said the legendary Zizou in an interview with Footmercato.🚨🎙️| Zidane: “Lamine Yamal’s second half against Inter… I’ve NEVER seen anything like that in my life! To see someone with such control on the pitch, it’s amazing. We all enjoy watching him play.” #fcblive pic.twitter.com/FjKPxd3btf— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) May 26, 2025 When the man with arguably the best first touch in football history, a player who drove defenders mad and terrified them with his vision and trickery, says something like this — it’s clear whose footballing era is on the horizon.##NAJAVA_MECA_8952548##
