Former Barcelona and Spain striker David Villa expressed his admiration for Lamine Yamal following his rapid rise to the top.
Yamal had an exceptional 2024, winning the UEFA Euro 2024 with Spain, where he was named the Best Young Player of the Tournament.
The La Masia graduate also secured prestigious individual honours, including the Kopa Trophy and the Golden Boy Award.
Villa was quick to word his praise for the young sensation, in a recent interview with AS, saying: “He’s an incredible kid. How he plays, how he understands football… it’s true that I don’t know him personally, but I’ve been with him a couple of times and he looks very calm and focused.
“This is not the explosion of a footballer who is going to last a few months.
“He’s been there for a while now where, you could say, he could have made a mistake and the opposite is true. He is very good and every time you see him play, he plays better.
“He also knows what it means to be a champion.”
David Villa: “I will not compare Lamine Yamal to Messi, I think comparing any player to Messi is annoying, Lamine is already a world star and has achieved important things in the past two years and I am very excited for him and the fans have the right to be excited for him of… pic.twitter.com/iq37BnMdrB
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) January 6, 2025
When asked about comparisons between Lamine and Lionel Messi, Villa fired back that the two are not compatible.
“I think that comparing any player to Messi is annoying nowadays. Lamine Yamal is already a world star,” Villa added.
“He’s been achieving important things for two years and, as a Cule, I’m excited again.
“And of course the fans have the right to be excited about him, but I don’t think it’s necessary to compare him with Messi because he’s going to have a very good career.”
A tense La Liga title race
David Villa also shared his thoughts on the current LaLiga title race, which sees his former clubs Barcelona and Atletico Madrid battling it out alongside reigning champions Real Madrid.
While Villa is enjoying seeing Atletico and Barcelona in contention, he has warned both against underestimating Real Madrid.
🎂 Happy birthday, David Villa! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/nAqnwRk2vd
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) December 3, 2024
He said: “Good, although keep an eye on Madrid. They are always there. Well, in short, they are the biggest clubs in the country and in the last few years they have shown, why not say it, quite a lot of superiority over the rest.
“Given their signings, it was clear that the three of them were going to be in the fight again and the truth is that it’s nice.
“That there is competition between more than two teams or with a very prominent leader is fantastic for the football fan.
“Of course, I’m very fond of two of those three teams because of my past with them and the truth is that I’m enjoying it a lot.
“Hopefully the league will go on like this until the end. I would like the league to be decided at the last minute… and it would be between Atletico and Barca.”
