Lamine Yamal has now reached the milestone of 100 goals and assists in his career, but has he done so in fewer matches than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?
Yamal’s 100th contribution came against Real Oviedo during Barcelona’s comfortable 3–0 victory.
The teenager scored Barcelona’s third goal with a brilliant acrobatic finish from inside the penalty area.
This means Yamal has registered 82 goals and assists for Barcelona in 132 appearances, as well as 18 goals and assists for Spain in 23 matches.
In total, he has reached 100 goal contributions in just 155 matches for club and country.
The very fact that he has played so many matches before turning 19 is remarkable, but it is clear that Yamal plays with a maturity beyond his years.
For comparison, Messi needed 159 matches to reach 100 goals and assists—four more than Yamal.
The Argentine magician achieved this milestone in November 2008, when he scored in Barcelona’s 2–0 victory over Huelva.
Although the number of matches needed to reach 100 G/A is very close between the two players, the age difference is significant.
Yamal is currently 18 years old, while Messi was 21 when he made his 159th appearance and reached this record.
As for Ronaldo, he required even more matches. He recorded his 100th goal contribution in December 2006, during his 236th professional appearance.
That match was a thrilling 3–2 victory for Manchester United against Reading, in which Ronaldo was involved in all three goals, scoring twice and providing one assist.
At the time, he was 21 years old—the same age Messi was when he reached 100 goal contributions.
Considering how exceptional Messi and Ronaldo were at a young age, the fact that Yamal has achieved this record ahead of both is a testament to the high level he is currently displaying.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the 18-year-old will continue to develop at this pace, and expectations that he will become the next Messi or Ronaldo remain unrealistic, given the extraordinary longevity of those two legends.
Nevertheless, this record firmly places Yamal among the greatest teenage players of all time, and his future looks extremely promising.
After finishing second in the Ballon d’Or last year, he will undoubtedly aim to become the youngest player in football history to win the award.
Currently, the record is held by Ronaldo Nazário, who won his first Ballon d’Or in 1997 at the age of 21.
