Lamine Yamal has been building his own legacy at FC Barcelona despite his young age, establishing himself as one of the club’s most important players at just 18 years old. Continuing to add milestones at his boyhood club, Yamal has now tied the Barcelona goalscoring record of an Argentina legend, and it isn’t Lionel Messi.
While often compared to Messi due to his playing style, Yamal has so far been more of a creator than a pure finisher, contributing more assists than goals and emerging as one of Barcelona’s primary playmakers. That said, last Saturday against Elche, he opened the scoring in a 3-1 La Liga victory when, after a perfectly timed through ball from Dani Olmo, the winger rounded goalkeeper Iñaki Peña and finished into an empty net with his right foot.
With that goal against Elche, Yamal reached 38 goals in a Barcelona shirt, tying Diego Maradona’s total during his time at the club. The Spanish prodigy reached that mark in his fourth season with the senior team, while the Argentine icon accomplished it across two campaigns.
Maradona joined Barcelona from Argentinos Juniors in 1982 at age 21 and, between 1982 and 1984, recorded 38 goals and 23 assists in 58 appearances before moving on to Napoli. Those numbers contrast sharply with Yamal’s output, as the teenager has already produced 38 goals and 40 assists across 134 matches for the Blaugrana.
Diego Maradona of Argentina.
Still, Yamal’s achievement stands out given his age and trajectory. Since making his debut during the 2022-23 season, he has steadily evolved, reaching this milestone at just 18 years old, five years younger than Maradona was when he hit the same mark. While he remains far from the top of Barcelona’s all-time scoring list, time is firmly on his side as he continues to climb the club’s historical rankings.
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What about Lionel Messi’s record?
With Lionel Messi’s departure still lingering in the minds of Barcelona supporters, Yamal has emerged as a new symbol of hope and a potential long-term successor. However, Messi’s club-record 672 goals in 778 appearances remain a distant target, with Yamal currently nowhere near ten percent of that historic total.
Even so, Yamal’s pace offers encouragement when projecting future growth. Now 18 years old, he plays a central role under Hansi Flick this season, appearing in 28 matches while recording 13 goals and 13 assists, elite production for a player of his age.
By comparison, when Messi turned 18 in June 2005, he was still in his second professional season and largely used in rotation. During the 2005-06 campaign, injuries limited him to 25 appearances, in which he scored eight goals and added five assists. With roughly half the current season remaining, Yamal has already surpassed those numbers, sending a clear message about his extraordinary trajectory heading into the years ahead.
