Comparing Lamine Yamal’s career record to Lionel Messi’s after 100 games

Ben Stewart • 18 Feb 2025

Lamine Yamal has now made 100 senior appearances for Barcelona and Spain, but how does his record compare to Lionel Messi after the same number of matches?

While plenty of wonderkids have been dubbed as the ‘next Messi’ in previous years gone by, none of them have managed to live up to the lofty expectations that come along with that nickname.

However, Yamal has already proven that he can handle the pressure as the 17-year-old seems to be getting better with each passing month.

When asked about the next generation of football stars, Messi was quick to name Yamal as one of the youngsters who he’s most excited about.

“There’s a very good generation of young footballers who have many years ahead of them,” Messi said at an Adidas event last year.

“If I have to choose someone, because of the age and because of the future that he has, I’ve heard that they have chosen Lamine Yamal and without doubt [it’s him] for me, too.

“I agree it depends on him and many things because that’s how soccer is, but he’s the present and without a doubt has a huge future.”

Yamal’s rise to stardom has been supersonic as the Barcelona wonderkid has already racked up 100 senior appearances at the age of 17.

For comparison, Messi was 20 years old when he made his 100th career appearance against Atletico Madrid in October 2007.

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When comparing their career records at the same point, it’s amazing just how similar they are. Yamal currently has 51 goals and assists to his name whereas Messi had 53 goal contributions after 100 appearances.

Interestingly, Messi was more prolific than Yamal in his younger years, but the Spaniard has the edge when it comes to assists.

During 2024-25, the 17-year-old has already racked up 10 La Liga assists which is more than any other player in the Spanish top flight.

“Lamine is a genius,” Barcelona boss Hansi Flick told reporters earlier this month.

“For his age, he’s doing great in every match. It’s not easy, because the opponents are strong, defend well, and attack him aggressively, but he keeps shining. I love it.”

With Barcelona currently leading the way in La Liga, Yamal will no doubt have a key role to play between now and the end of the season for Flick’s side.

Here’s the full breakdown of how Yamal’s career record compares to Messi’s after 100 games for club and country: