Lamine Yamal, the rising star of FC Barcelona, has made headlines by choosing Neymar Jr. as his biggest footballing idol, surprisingly overlooking Lionel Messi, Afrosport reports.
The 17-year-old has been a revelation since making his debut last season, going on to represent Spain and win the Euro 2024 championship in Germany.
The rise of Yamal has been compared with Messi who is regarded as arguably the greatest player to feature for the Catalan giants.
Yamal however mentioned Neymar as his favourite player growing up having first watched him while he was still in Brazil with Santos.
“I was five years old when I saw him at Santos, but seven years old when I saw him in person at FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou,” he reminisces in an interview with CNN.
While acknowledging Messi’s greatness, he noted that Neymar unique style of play just gave the Brazilian the edge over the eight-time Balon d’Or winner.
“It was incredible to see him. Yes, it’s true that [Lionel] Messi was there who was also incredible, but he was something totally different,” he continued.
“Neymar has always been my idol. He’s a star, a football legend.”
Neymar left Barcelona in 2017 after joining from Santos in 2013 and scored 68 La Liga goals in 123 appearances.
The winger won La Liga twice, the Copa del Rey three times, and the Champions League once during his time at the Nou Camp, famously scoring in the 2015 final of the latter.
Yamal emphasised his commitment to Barcelona and believes the club has what it takes to reclaim the La Liga title from Real Madrid.
“I want to play in the Spanish league. I want to play for Barca, and yes, I will renew my contract. I will.
“In the end, La Liga will be won against the teams we’ve previously lost to. I think it’s about focus. We’ve shown in the important moments that we are the best and we’ll continue to do so,”
Lamine representing pic.twitter.com/aYZYa5UNBt
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 8, 2025
Yamal was on target in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Supercopa de Espana in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
