Barcelona forward Raphinha has looked beyond the many comparisons made between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi, and has compared the prodigious teenager to Neymar.
Raphinha and Yamal have been in brilliant form for Hansi Flick’s Barcelona this season, seeing off the Catalan side at the top of the The League. The two sides were ready 4-0 resounding from Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu last month.
Yamal became the Barcelona player of all time the youngest goalscorer in Clásico history on that memorable evening, two days before being crowned the best young player in the world in 2024Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The left-handed graduate of La Masia has been infinitely compared to Messianother twisted phenomenon that has graced the red and blue stripes of Barcelona. However, Raphinha explained in a recent interview with The Country why he saw more similarities between Yamal and Neymar.
“The most important thing (in soccer) is to know what you’re going to do before the ball reaches you,” explained the Brazilian forward. “To have the whole field mapped out. You have to take your eyes off the ball to look at everything going on around you. The people who do that are geniuses.”
messiahwho Raphinha claimed was “from another world” possessed that innate quality, but when asked if Yamal was following the same path as the Argentine, he argued: “I see him more like Neymar.
“The dribbles, how fast he thinks he dribbles. When you think you can steal the ball from him, he does something you’ve never seen in your life.”
towards Sunday’s Catalan derby against EspanyolYamal had faced his opponent 81 times, more than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues, for FBRef.
Yamal attempts an average of 8.3 shots per game, a number that Neymar only surpassed during his last season in Spain. Throughout his first three years at Barcelona, the quick-footed trickster only recorded six to seven runs in each outing.
