Coach Xavi: 'Any comparison with Messi is unfair'

Portugal hope 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal can mark an era in modern football, but coach Xavi refuses to compare his student to Lionel Messi.

Today, Barca visit Porto in the second round of Group H of the Champions League at the Estadio do Dragao. This is the same stadium where Messi made his Barca debut in a friendly against Porto in 2003 at the age of 16.

At the same age, Barca have a new talent in Yamal, who has played nine games in all competitions this season and sparked an own goal by veteran centre-back Sergio Ramos, helping Barca beat Sevilla 1-0 in La Liga last week. On October 2, Yamal signed a new contract until June 2026 with a release clause of €1 billion, equivalent to $1.05 billion. If he scores against Porto today, he will become the youngest player to score in the Champions League, breaking the record set by Ansu Fati when he scored against Inter in 2019 when he was just 17.

Coach Xavi at a press conference before the Porto match in the Champions League. Photo: AFP — Coach Xavi at a press conference before the Porto match in the Champions League. Photo: *AFP*

In the pre-match press conference, when asked about the comparisons between Yamal and Messi, Xavi replied: "I hope Yamal can mark an era in modern football, but such comparisons do not help. It is true that expectations are very high and at 16, Yamal is playing at a very high level and that is positive. But let's see what the future holds and do not compare Yamal to Messi. Things have not gone so smoothly for those who have been compared to Messi."

In fact, there are many players who have failed to live up to the expectations of following in Messi's footsteps at Camp Nou. Bojan Krkic came through the ranks at La Masia and was once considered the most promising young striker in the Barca squad. He even broke Messi's record as the youngest Barca player to play in La Liga and was the youngest Barca player to play in the Champions League, at just 17 years and 22 days. But the Spanish striker failed to compete for a regular place at Camp Nou, moving to Roma, Milan, Ajax, Stoke City and Vissel Kobe before retiring in March.

The latest is Fati - who grew up in La Masia, was promoted to Barca's first team in the 2019-2020 season. The Spanish striker wore the 22, 17 shirts and then took over the number 10 shirt after Messi's contract expired and he moved to PSG in the summer of 2021. The 20-year-old was expected to become a new icon at Camp Nou, but consecutive injuries have affected his development. Last season, Fati only started 12 La Liga matches, came on as a substitute 24 times, scored seven goals and assisted four goals, then joined Brighton on loan this summer.

In addition to Yamal, another young talent who has made a strong impression is Fermin Lopez - who played for third-tier side Linares on loan last season. The 20-year-old Spanish midfielder has made four appearances this season and scored once in the 2-2 draw with Mallorca in round seven of La Liga. With Pedri and Frenkie de Jong injured, Xavi has left open the possibility of giving Lopez his first chance to start for Barca. "He has been a surprise for everyone this season," the Spanish coach praised. "Lopez can help us. If he is confident, he will be at Barca for a long time."

Xavi is determined to break the curse of Barca being eliminated from the Champions League group stage in the last two seasons. In the 2021-2022 season, his team finished third in the group stage and had to play in the Europa League - where they lost 3-4 on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals. A similar scenario happened last season, when Barca continued to finish third in the group stage, then lost 3-4 to Man Utd in the Europa League play-off.

Hong Duy

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