Sports

Yamal’s 17 Goal Contributions in 10 Games Outshine Messi’s Teenage Record

By Hafsa Adil, Basel Ghazoghli

Lamine Yamal has recorded 17 goal contributions—eight goals and nine assists—in his first ten matches for Barcelona across all competitions, surpassing Lionel Messi’s 14 contributions (eight goals and six assists) during the 2008‑09 season when Messi was 19 and won his first Ballon d’Or. Yamal, 19, began his senior career at 16 in the 2023‑24 season and has maintained consistent form for both club and country since returning from the FIFA World Cup. He has expressed a desire to win the Ballon d’Or within 11 days, though he will compete with Kylian Mbappé and Harry Kane. Mbappé, who joined Real Madrid in 2024, had 12 goals and four assists in his first ten games for the club, one contribution fewer than Yamal’s current tally. Both Yamal and Messi share the rare achievement of scoring braces in their first five La Liga games. Messi’s first brace came in the 2012‑13 season at age 25, while Yamal achieved the same this season. The two players met in a UNICEF shoot at Camp Nou in 2007, and a viral photo of Messi bathing baby Yamal during the 2022 World Cup sparked widespread attention. Yamal later told a British newspaper that he thanked Messi for his influence on football. Barcelona manager Hansi Flick praised Yamal after a 4‑1 win over Galatasaray, noting that Yamal’s creativity in training translates to matches and that he is turning the game for the team. Yamal’s seven league goals outpace the entire scoring tallies of Valencia, Getafe and Malaga for the season.