Lamine Yamal is already collecting Barcelona milestones at a remarkable rate, and his latest achievement inevitably brings Lionel Messi into the conversation. During a spectacular Champions League night against Feyenoord, the teenage star combined goals, assists, and another piece of club history as Barcelona made a statement on the European stage.
Barcelona opened its 2026-27 UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 demolition of Feyenoord at the Camp Nou, maintaining its perfect start to the season. Raphinha scored twice, Karim Adeyemi added his first European goal for the club, while Yamal and substitute Gabriel Jesus also found the net.
Raphinha needed only three minutes to open the scoring after receiving Yamal’s pass and cutting inside two defenders. Adeyemi then doubled the advantage in the 22nd minute before Raphinha struck again shortly after halftime, leaving Feyenoord with an almost impossible task.
Yamal eventually took over the spotlight, scoring Barcelona’s fourth in the 77th minute with a clever direct free-kick. Sem Steijn pulled one back for Feyenoord five minutes later, but Jesus restored Barcelona’s four-goal advantage in the 85th minute by converting Yamal’s cross.
Yamal makes history with the Barcelona armband
The night carried a milestone that had nothing to do with the Champions League record books. After Raphinha was substituted, he handed the captain’s armband to Yamal, making the teenager the youngest player in Barcelona history to captain the club.
Yamal had already been included in Barcelona’s leadership group for the 2026-27 campaign. Raphinha serves as first-choice captain, Pedri is second captain, while Eric Garcia, Frenkie de Jong and Yamal make up the remainder of the group following a squad vote.
The moment was particularly symbolic because Yamal is still only 19. He has gone from teenage prospect to one of Barcelona’s most important attacking players and now has a place in the club’s captaincy history as well.
How long did Messi wait to score as Barcelona captain?
That makes Messi’s own timeline especially fascinating. Lionel Messi was 25 years old when he first started an official La Liga match as Barcelona captain, doing so against Celta Vigo on March 30, 2013, when regular captains including Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez were unavailable.
Messi scored in the 72nd minute of Barcelona’s match against Celta Vigo, although there is an important technical detail surrounding the moment. Andrés Iniesta had come onto the pitch and taken the armband before Messi’s goal, meaning the Argentine started the match as captain but was no longer wearing it when he found the net.
Luis Suarez of Barcelona puts the captain’s arm band on Lionel Messi of Barcelona
According to Barcelona’s official data, Messi had actually worn the captain’s armband for the first time much earlier, in a preseason friendly against Dundee United on July 27, 2008. He was 21 years and 33 days old at the time and marked his first captaincy appearance with a hat-trick in a 5-1 victory.
Messi later became Barcelona’s permanent captain ahead of the 2018-19 season, following Iniesta’s departure. His first goal after becoming the club’s official captain came in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Boca Juniors on August 15, 2018, when he scored in a 3-0 victory.
