Is Lamine Yamal’s Barcelona record better than Messi’s as a teenager?

Key points

• Lamine Yamal has eight goals and nine assists in 10 Barcelona matches this season.
• Lionel Messi had 14 goal contributions in the 2008-09 season as a 19-year-old.
• Kylian Mbappe recorded 16 goal contributions in his first 10 games as a 19-year-old.

Lamine Yamal has made a strong start to the club football season with Barcelona, recording eight goals and nine assists in 10 matches across all competitions. The 19-year-old Spanish forward returned from the FIFA World Cup as a champion and has drawn comparisons to past prodigies.

Yamal's 17 goal contributions in eight match weeks have led to discussions about how his record compares to that of Lionel Messi at the same age.

Comparison with Messi

Messi, the all-time Barcelona and Argentina great, had 14 goal contributions in the 2008-09 season when he won his first Ballon d'Or as a 19-year-old. Both players have scored braces in their first five La Liga games, though Messi achieved this at 25 in the 2012-13 season while Yamal has done so this season.

Yamal has said he wants to win the Ballon d'Or in 11 days, but faces competition from Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane.

I said thank you for everything you gave football

— Lamine Yamal

Mbappe's early record

Mbappe, who joined Real Madrid in 2024, scored 12 goals and made four assists in his first 10 games as a 19-year-old at Paris Saint-Germain, totaling 16 goal contributions. That is one behind Yamal's current record after the same number of matches.

Mbappe helped Real Madrid beat Inter Milan last month, though the club has not won the Champions League since the 2023-24 season.

Manager's praise

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick praised Yamal after the 4-1 win over Galatasaray in Istanbul. Flick said, "When you see the chances Lamine creates in every training session, it's the same in matches." He added that Yamal has turned games around for the team.