Much has been made of whether football’s teenage sensation, Lamine Yamal, can reach the levels of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi given how his career at Barcelona has started – and former Manchester United and Portugal winger Luis Nani, after waxing lyrical about the 18-year-old, responded to whether he can make surpass the aforementioned superstar duo.
Having been part of Sir Alex Ferguson’s trophy-winning dynasty at Old Trafford, the 38-year-old certainly knows a thing or two about playing at the highest level, and he was recently quizzed about the levels the Spanish phenom could reach in the future.
Yamal has become accustomed to leaving records in tatters at his feet, but whether his world-beating form, which saw him place second behind Ousmane Dembele at the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, is a question that remains unanswered for now. His talent alone, however, puts him firmly in the conversation to rub shoulders with Pele and the like to become one of the best footballers of all time.
Nani on Whether Yamal Can Reach the Levels of Ronaldo and Messi
Speaking at the Portugal Football Summit 2025, Nani sung the praises of Yamal. The former winger said: “For me, Yamal is fantastic. He is a pure talent. He has a long way to go. He was nominated for the Ballon d’Or and everyone thought it would be him. I think it’s fair that he doesn’t receive it now because we know he is a player who will win.
“If he keeps his focus, if he keeps his dedication, if he does a normal process, he will surely win his Ballon d’Or and he will be a very strong player in the whole world.
Nani, who picked up four Premier League titles with the Red Devils and won 112 caps for his country, continued: “He will help Spain to win their titles, as he has done before. That’s why he is a player who has come a long way and I support him. Today, I support all the kids in the team because they like how he plays.”
Nani was then quizzed about whether Yamal – who is commonly viewed as one of the best teenagers in football history – will be remembered in the same vein as Ronaldo and Messi in the years to come, Nani took a step back to recognise the greatness of the two superstars. “I don’t think we can talk about it. We are destroying what we want him to reach. We don’t want to talk about it so he can reach it,” he said.
“The bad thing about human beings is that they talk until they reach it. We can’t compete with Ronaldo or Messi. Messi and Ronaldo have already done their thing, and they are doing very well. The others who come, thank you too. We are going to do this, whether less or more, we are going to applaud them because these are moments. We can’t compare things.”
Although Yamal – and others in the past – have been compared to two of the greatest footballers of all time, Nani said that he prefers to let the young talent flourish rather than compound them with the pressure.
“Many of the things that happened and still happen, we are comparing all these years, if a good player comes out, ‘He’s Cristiano’, if another player comes out, ‘He’s Messi’. And then what happens? I never see them again. Why? Because the pressure kills the players. Now I think like this, I prefer not to talk, so I don’t create expectations for the kids.”
As things stand, 2007-born Yamal has plundered 65 goal contributions (27 goals and 38 assists) in 120 matches for his employers since graduating from the La Masia academy. His best attributes, however, is when he is dribbling with the ball; his mazy runs, combined with his fleet-footed nature, makes him an absolute nuisance to contain.
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