Football Wonderkids: Is Lamine Yamal the best 17-year-old footballer ever?

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

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.

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

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:

• 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:

• 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 records to his name, which can be felt unbelievable considering his age. 

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

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

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 February 2024, 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.