It has been a remarkable Euro 2024 journey for Spanish youngster Lamine Yamal who guided his side to a famous victory beating England in the final. The Barcelona wonderkid turned 17 on July 13, just a day before the European Championship final, played in Berlin.
Having made his senior debuts for club and country at the ages of 15 and 16 respectively, Yamal is already being touted as the next big thing. He provided four assists and one splendid goal in the competition to play a pivotal role in Spain’s title-winning Euro 2024 run.
Former English footballer Gary Lineker recently shared his views on the Spanish star. While talking about Yamal’s rise, Lineker recalled the emergence of former England goal scorer Wayne Rooney.
“I remember the emergence of Wayne Rooney. You could tell he was special but even he didn’t do this. Pele scored two in a World Cup final but he was 17, nearly 18. Even Messi didn’t really emerge internationally until his late teens. What we’re seeing here is something very, very special. How special, we will have to wait and see. To do what he is doing: I can’t quite get my head around it,” Gary Lineker told The Guardian.
While many have already started drawing parallels between Lamine Yamal and Argentine legend Lionel Messi, Gary Lineker is averse to the comparison between the two.
“I’ve not seen anything like this. Messi is from another planet and I don’t think you want to put that [comparison] on him, but there’s no question that if Lamine keeps his feet on the ground and doesn’t have serious injuries, he is going to be very special indeed. He already is: if you judge the players at this tournament and age is nothing to do with it, he would be top three or four. At 16 … he’s a child! Some kids live up to the expectations, a lot don’t. But with this kind of talent, I would be surprised if we don’t see some kind of greatness,” Lineker explained.
In the match against England, Lamine Yamal, at the age of 17 years and one day, became the youngest player ever to feature in a major international final. Yamal surpassed the record set by Brazilian great Pele, who was 17 years and 249 days, during the 1958 World Cup final.
Lamine Yamal’s dream Euro 2024 run came to an end with Spain winning their record fourth title. Mikel Oyarzabal’s strike four minutes from time earned La Roja a 2-1 win against England in the final of the European Championships.
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