Xavi has cautioned against drawing comparisons between Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi, following the 16-year-old’s signing of a new long-term contract with Barcelona on Monday.
As Barcelona prepares to face Porto in the Champions League at the Estádio do Dragão, the same stadium where Messi made his non-competitive debut for the club nearly 20 years ago, Xavi declined to equate Yamal’s emergence to that of Messi in 2003.
He noted that such comparisons have not typically yielded favourable outcomes for those previously likened to the Argentine forward.
“I hope Lamine can mark an era [in football], but we are not doing him any favours by saying that,” the Barça coach said in a news conference when asked about Messi comparisons.
“It’s true the expectations are enormous and, aged 16, he is playing at a brutal level, which is hugely positive. But let’s see what the future holds without comparing him with Messi.
It’s not gone that well for all the players that have been compared with Messi in the past.”