Former Barcelona coach and 2010 World Cup winner Xavi Hernandez has written that “the next 15 to 20 years belong to Lamine Yamal”, drawing striking parallels between the 18-year-old Spain winger and Lionel Messi in a piece for The Athletic that offers perhaps the most intimate portrait yet of the player lighting up the 2026 World Cup.
Xavi, the heartbeat of Spain’s golden era who won the World Cup in South Africa alongside two European Championships in 2008 and 2012, was the man who gave Yamal his Barcelona debut at the age of 15. His assessment carries the weight of someone who has worked alongside Messi at the peak of his powers and watched Yamal develop from a gifted teenager into the most exciting player on the planet.
“He’s a leader on the pitch who makes the difference at 18, something we’ve only seen with Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Pele and maybe Ronaldo, O Fenomeno,” Xavi wrote.
The comparisons with Messi are ones Xavi navigates carefully but cannot avoid. “He’s left-footed, he plays on the right wing, he cuts inside, creates opportunities for himself and is capable of delivering the final pass. There are many similarities with Leo. But I don’t think we’re doing the boy any favours by comparing him to the greatest of all time,” he wrote, before adding what is perhaps the most telling observation of all. “Lamine knows he is different. Just as Leo knew he was different.”
Xavi recalled first hearing about Yamal in the same way he first heard about Messi, through whispers around the club that something extraordinary had arrived. When he finally saw him in a recorded youth match at 15, providing two assists and scoring a goal, his reaction was immediate. “This boy was different from everyone else his age, way above them. He practically did whatever he wanted on the pitch.”
What struck Xavi most was not the talent but the temperament. “As a manager, when you put your hand on a lot of players’ backs, you can feel their heart. Thump, thump, thump. I’d put my hand on his back and it was like his heart wasn’t beating. This guy’s calm,” he wrote. That calm has been on full display throughout this World Cup, where Yamal became the first player to make more than five appearances at the tournament while aged 18 or younger.
Spain reached the semi-finals for only the second time in their history with a 2-1 victory over Belgium on 11 July, setting up a clash with France that will be the third major knockout meeting between the sides in just over a year, with Spain winning both previous encounters.
Mikel Merino proved the match winner for the second successive knockout game, converting the rebound after Senne Lammens spilled Pau Cubarsi’s effort in the 88th minute, having also scored the decisive goal against Portugal in the round of 16. Fabian Ruiz had given Spain the lead before Charles De Ketelaere’s header ended a run of 649 minutes without conceding.
Yamal, asked about the semi-final against France, was characteristically fearless. “If anyone should be afraid it should be them because we knocked them out of the Euros,” he said. “We have no fear.” On his modest goal return, he was equally unbothered. “I won the European Championship scoring just one goal. If we win the World Cup, I don’t think anyone is going to tell me I only scored once.”
Xavi’s conclusion was unambiguous. “He is the player that Spain needed to reach another level. If he wins the World Cup, he’ll be considered the best. I’m sure of it.”
