Lamine is more advanced than Messi and Cristiano at the same age

Gerrard says Yamal is more advanced than Messi and Ronaldo were at 19, having faced both as a midfielder.

Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool legend and current unattached manager, offered one of the most striking endorsements of Lamine Yamal, drawing on his experience as a midfielder who faced both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in their youth.

"Lamine Yamal does things on the pitch I've never seen in a 19-year-old," Gerrard said on Sky Bet's Overlap Daily programme. "I played against Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when they were young, and at that age they played much more openly than he does today. I think he's more advanced than them at the same age."

Gerrard acknowledged the uncertainty ahead, noting that Yamal must maintain his hunger for victory and individual recognition at Barcelona. "Whether he can sustain the same statistics and regularity, we'll have to see," he said. "If he becomes a centre-forward later in his career to reach the goal tally Messi and Ronaldo have scored, it will take time to know.

But if we compare all three at 19, I think he's more advanced than they were." Gerrard also placed Yamal above other young superstars globally, though he rated Mbappé and Haaland as roughly on par with each other at their current peak.