Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona Starkid has yet again shown his prowess during FC Barcelona's LaLiga 2024-25 encounter against Atletico Madrid last night.

The 17-year-old Spanish forward scored a winner for Barcelona in the second minute of injury time to hand a crucial three points to the Catalan giants.

AURA.

17 year-old Lamine Yamal doing things that only legends have done in their prime!

A goal in the added time to hand Barcelona full points against Atletico Madrid! #LamineYamal #FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/UiShcXsGCe
— Sportz Point (@sportz_point) March 16, 2025

Barcelona proceeded to win the match 4-2 over Atletico, and Lamine was named Man of the Match for his outstanding performance throughout the game.

Read Also | Atletico Madrid vs FC Barcelona LaLiga 2024 - 25 Highlights: Yamal's late goal gives Barcelona full points; ATM 2-4 FCB

However, just as quite a few times before, Lamine Yamal has broken the headlines and is already considered the best footballer in the world by many.

Lamine Yamal's 11 career goals are now tied for the most by a player before turning 18 years old in LALIGA history 😲

Starboy 🤩 pic.twitter.com/UZUXUPBVI6
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 16, 2025

At the age of 17, Lamine Yamal already holds some prestigious silverware, team achievements, and personal accolades. Compared to the renowned footballers who stormed into the headlines while being at the age of 17, Lamine has been showing immense potential day in and out for FC Barcelona and Spain.

Convincingly, Lamine is frequently compared to the footballers who started to prove their potential at the young age of 17, footballers who went on to be all-time greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or Neymar Jr.

This article delves into the discourse of whether Lamine Yamal is the best 17-year-old footballer ever.

Lamine Yamal: Compared to the greatests of the game

Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?-sportzpoint.com — (Image Credit | Givemesport)

When compared to the greatests to ever grace football, Lamine Yamal possesses some outstanding numbers and accolades than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when they were aged 17.

According to FOX Sports, here are his stats compared to Messi and Ronaldo's by their age 17 seasons, accounting till March 17, 2025.

Player	Club	Apps.	Goals	Assists	Country	Apps.	Goals	Assists
Lamine Yamal	FC Barcelona	89	20	24	Spain	17	3	8
Lionel Messi	FC Barcelona	9	1	0	Argentina	0	0	0
Cristiano Ronaldo	Sporting CP	31	5	6	Portugal	0	0	0

Lamine Yamal is DIFFERENT. 🇪🇸⭐️

Here are his stats compared to Messi and Ronaldo's by their age 17 seasons 👀 pic.twitter.com/w5ybqKdIrX
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 11, 2025

Lamine Yamal: Achievements so far

Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?-sportzpoint.com — Lamine with his personal accolades.

So, by the age 17 season, Lamine Yamal has already overtaken Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of stats and importance in the first-team squad for their respective clubs.

Lamine's international career is even more impressive, whereas Messi and Ronaldo both got their national call-ups at the age of 18. On the contrary, Lamine has already won the Euros with Spain at the age of 16, proving himself crucial for the senior Spanish national football team as well.

Here are Lamine's personal and team achievements in Club football for Barcelona so far:

Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?-sportzpoint.com — (Image Credit | GettyImages)

LaLiga Champion 2022-23
Supercopa De Espana Champion 2025
La Liga U23 Player of the Season 2023-24
Golden Boy 2024
Kopa Trophy 2024
IFFHS World's Best Men's Youth (U20) Player 2024
Globe Soccer Award Emerging Player 2024

Here are the personal and team achievements of Lamine for Spain:

Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?-sportzpoint.com — (Image Credit | GettyImages)

UEFA Euro 2024 Champion
Euro Young Player of the Tournament 2024
UEFA Euro 2024 top assist provider 2024 (4 assists)
UEFA European Under-17 Championship top scorer 2023 (4 goals)

Along with the numbers and accolades, Lamine already holds some breathtaking record to his name records, which can be felt unbelievable considering his age.

Here are the major records the Barcelona youngster is currently holding:

Record Set	Age at Time of Record	Date	Opponent
Youngest Player to Start a La Liga Game in the 21st Century	16 years and 38 days	20/08/2023	Cadiz
Youngest Player to Provide a La Liga Assist in the 21st Century	16 years and 45 days	27/08/2023	Villarreal
Youngest Debutant and Scorer for Spain	16 years and 57 days	08/09/2023	Georgia
Youngest Barcelona Debutant in the Champions League	16 years and 68 days	19/09/2023	Royal Antwerp
Youngest Champions League Starter	16 years and 83 days	04/10/2023	Porto
Youngest La Liga (and Barcelona) Goalscorer	16 years and 87 days	08/10/2023	Granada
Youngest player to score a brace in La Liga	16 years and 213 days	12/02/2024	Granada
Youngest Player to Play in El Clasico	16 years and 107 days	28/10/2023	Real Madrid
Youngest Assist Provider in the Champions League	16 years and 153 days	13/12/2023	Royal Antwerp
Youngest Player to Make 50 Appearances for Barcelona	16 years and 311 days	19/05/2024	Rayo Vallecano
Youngest Assist Provider and Goalscorer in the Euros	16 years and 339 days, 16 years and 362 days	15/06/2024 and 09/07/2024	Croatia and France
Youngest Winner Of, and Player In, a Euros Final	17 years and 1 day	14/07/2024	England
Youngest El Clasico Goalscorer	17 years and 105 days	26/10/2024	Real Madrid
Youngest player to score in Copa del Rey	16 years and 195 days	25/01/2024	Athletic Bilbao
Youngest player to score in Spanish Super Cup	16 years and 182 days	12/01/2024	Osasuna
Youngest player to score and assist in a single Champions League match	17 years 241 days	12/03/2025	Benfica

There are plenty of other achievements in different awards, and nominations that Lamine has earned by this age.

To add more context, at the age of 17, Neymar Jr. was taking Brazil by storm while playing for Santos; whereas Kylian Mbappe just emerged as a generational talent while playing for Monaco.

Conclusion

Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?-sportzpoint.com — (Image Source | X)

Whenever Lamine Yamal steps onto the pitch, he definitely plays like one of the best footballers in the world. This is no longer an exaggerated claim that Yamal played a crucial role in helping Barcelona reach the Champions League quarterfinals this season.

Lamine has consistently performed at a high level for over a year now. He showcased his talent at the Euros and has made an impact all across Spain. Since last February, he has contributed to 45 goals for both club and country. Remember, he is only 17!

His trajectory resembles that of Lionel Messi. However, this doesn't guarantee that he will equal Messi's achievements because football careers are rarely linear and injuries can inflict challenges. Still, it isn't far-fetched to say that he has the potential to enter the club of all-time greats at the oblivion of his career.

Convincingly, Lamine Yamal has already established himself as the best 17-year-old footballer in history. Barcelona fans are seemingly very optimistic about his future and look forward to a remarkable career ahead for this young talent.

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