- Lamine Yamal is reportedly set to sign a long-term contract at Barcelona
- The deal will see him take Lionel Messi’s iconic No 10 shirt this summer
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Lamine Yamal will reportedly inherit Lionel Messi’s iconic No 10 shirt at Barcelona after signing a new contract with the club this summer.
Despite only being 17, Yamal has emerged as a Ballon d’Or contender this season after winning the Euros with Spain last year, and is widely viewed as the game’s biggest talent since Messi burst onto the scene almost 20 years ago.
Similarities have been drawn between the pair, and Yamal now looks set to follow in Messi’s footsteps once again.
According to Memorabilia1899.co, Yamal will celebrate his 18th birthday in July by signing a new long-term contract with Barcelona that will contain a €1bn (£841m) release clause.
The deal will also see Yamal handed the No 10 shirt which is currently occupied by Ansu Fati.
Fati is facing an uncertain future at Barcelona, and will have the famous jersey taken off him by Yamal, who has been donning the No 19 shirt this season.
Lamine Yamal will reportedly take the No 10 shirt when he signs a new Barcelona deal
Lionel Messi famously wore the No 10 jersey for the majority of his iconic Barcelona career
Yamal will take the No 10 shirt off Ansu Fati (centre) who is facing an uncertain future
This will signify another historic moment in Yamal’s fledgling career, after he made his Barcelona debut two years ago when he was only 15.
Since then, he has won LaLiga twice, and starred in Barcelona’s run to the Champions League semi-finals this season before they were knocked out by Inter Milan in a thrilling tie.
Yamal looks primed to dazzle in the No 10 shirt for years to come, just like Messi did after he took the jersey in 2008.
Messi made the shirt his own for 13 years, winning the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions during this period, before adding another to his collection in 2023 after winning the World Cup the previous year with Argentina.
The Argentine icon finished his Barcelona career in 2021 with a staggering 672 goals in 778 appearances, plus 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League triumphs to his name.
Yamal has big boots to fill, but has already shown that he can light up the biggest stages.
The winger had pundits purring over his ability earlier this month after Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter, as Rio Ferdinand hailed him as the best player in the world, while Jamie Carragher compared him to a prime Messi.
Ferdinand wrote on X: ‘As a pure football talent I’m going as far as to say I think Lamine Yamal is on another level to any player playing the game in the top 5 leagues in world football.
Yamal claimed his second LaLiga title last week, and lifted the trophy over the weekend
Rio Ferdinand believes the 17-year-old is already the best player in the world
’17yrs old – Truly unbelievable.’
Meanwhile, Carragher said on CBS Sports: ‘That (performance) was Messi-esque. That was like watching Messi in his heyday.
‘The whole game almost stopping to just see what he was going to do. It was just brilliant.’
