Lamine Yamal's record after 100 games compared to Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo

Lamine Yamal has been called a "difference maker", a "beast of a talent" and the type of player to "define an era". And that's only from Xavi.

Barcelona's record-shattering teenager can't drink, vote or rent a car, but he is somehow old enough to have racked up 100 senior appearances for club and the Spanish national team.

Everyone associated with the braces-clad winger is at pains to avoid comparing him to Lionel Messi, but the Argentine icon and his long-serving rival Cristiano Ronaldo are the last two players to have left their mark over an era of football.

Lamine Yamal's record after 100 professional games

When Yamal made his debut for Barcelona's senior team as a 15-year-old - and came a whisker away from marking that embryonic outing with a goal - he had not even played for the club's famed B team, such was the concussive velocity of his rapid rise.

Robert Lewandowski remembered one distinct thought rattling around his head when he first saw this child train with Barcelona's senior side: "Wow".

After skirting around the fringes of Xavi's title-winning team, Yamal was involved in almost every game last season and has established himself as the most talented - if not the most important - member of Hansi Flick's current side. In the five league games Yamal hasn't started this term, Barcelona have picked up just one point.

On the international stage, Yamal's influence has been just as seismic. The arrival of a direct dribbler - coupled with his good friend Nico Williams - shifted Spain from an aesthetically pleasing if slightly anaemic possession side to the European champions. Spain boss Luis de la Fuente was not alone in hailing him as "touched by that magic wand of God".

Lionel Messi's record after 100 professional games

Messi had not yet burst into supernova form by the time he made his 100th career appearance in October 2007. At the previous Ballon d'Or ceremony, the fleet-footed winger had collected just two votes - fewer than Lukas Podolski for perspective. However, there had already been several hints of his supreme talent.

The 69th senior appearance of his career was instantly dubbed "the Lionel Messi game" as he rattled in a hat-trick against Real Madrid as a 19-year-old in March 2007. Five weeks later, the latest figure who had been upheld as "the next Maradona" replicated his compatriot's greatest-ever goal.

"It's Diego," the Argentinian commentary screamed after watching Messi slalom through half of Getafe's team in the Copa del Rey. "Tell me it isn't! To me it's Diego… He's reincarnated." Press from Buenos Aires to Barcelona echoed the sentiment, with Marca lauding "Messidona".

Cristiano Ronaldo's record after 100 professional games

The Manchester United squad had not managed to kick Ronaldo's propensity for step-overs out of him by the time his made his 100th career appearance. The flashy forward had only completed one full season for the Premier League giants, flickering briefly in and out of the spotlight.

Undoubtedly the best game of Ronaldo's early career was the 2004 FA Cup final. After a season riddled with criticism, the Portuguese teen dazzled for United in a 3-0 win against Millwall, earning rivers of praise from his manager and teammates. Sir Alex Ferguson insisted: "He is going to be an outstanding footballer," while Gary Neville echoed that sentiment: "I think Ronaldo can be one of the top footballers in the world."

Crucially those gushing reviews pointed towards Ronaldo's future potential, rather than his existing success at this embryonic stage of his career.

How Lamine Yamal compares to Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo

As much as he will be at pains to admit it, Ronaldo was a relatively late-blooming prodigy - particularly in terms of raw output. The Portuguese forward recorded fewer goals and assists than Yamal over his opening 100 games even though he was two years older than the Spaniard when he brought up a century of outings.

Messi racked up almost twice as many goals as Yamal during his first 100 games for club and country, but actually provided fewer assists. Despite his impressive strike rate, this floppy-fringed vintage of the Argentine was more focused on dribbling, completing an outrageous average of between seven and eight per game during this period. For context, Yamal is one of the most prolific weavers in Europe's top five leagues, yet 'only' completes 4.2 per 90.

However, these comparisons ignore one glaring factor - Yamal is still a child. Messi had only made seven appearances by the time he was Yamal's age while Ronaldo's senior career amounted to a grand total of just 32 minutes.

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