FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal is more like Lionel Messi or Neymar, and “has more to offer” than Real Madrid rival Vinicius Jr. according to Sergio Aguero, who made these statements when speaking to Mundo Deportivo via Stake.
Vinicius is the favourite to land the Ballon d’Or on Monday for football’s greatest individual male player in 2024.
Aged just 17, however, Lamine is already the best at his trade found anywhere in the planet in the eyes of many, and has begun the club season in even better form than that which saw him help Spain win the Euros last summer.
Ex-Barca star Aguero is clear that he prefers Lamine more, and said that “if we talk about styles of play and talent”, he thinks that Lamine “has more to offer than Vinicius”.
“Obviously Vinicius has played for more years and has won many titles in Madrid, so this means that Vinicius is one of the top three players in the world. But if we talk about his game, despite his age, I prefer Lamal.
“I think we can compare these two to that of Neymar and Messi, that even played together, it was complicated but Barcelona was able to do this. Now Barca has Lamal and Madrid Vinicius, as well as Mbappe, even though he is more of a center forward,” Aguero added.
That being said, Aguero sees Vinicius as being more of a threat to Barca in El Clasico on Saturday, and he would prioritise defending him over Kylian Mbappe.
“I think what Vinicius doesn’t have, Mbappe has, and what Mbappe doesn’t have, Vinicius has,” Aguero stated.
“I believe that Mbappe first needs to adapt to Madrid’s style of play after so many years in Paris. I do believe they are two totally different players. However, if I face Real Madrid today, the zone I want to defend and protect the most is the zone in which Vinicius plays. Right now, Mbappe is more in a position in which he simply needs to culminate plays and score goals.”
Back to Lamine, Aguero says that he “keeps surprising me with his talent” and “does things that only 26-year-olds can do”.
“For now we have to enjoy him, because we don’t know how far he will go, only time will tell.
“Everyone has different talents, but his is always about confronting and moving forward. He’s able to dribble past players with ease, but then again, he creates plays that others with his age would never dare to do.
“He has a different vision of the game, that most only gain until they are at least 20. I was like this myself when I started out as a teenager, there are things that simply come natural to you,” Aguero further explained.
At the Bernabeu in El Clasico, all three of Vinicius Jr., Lamine and Mbappe are expected to start while entertaining a global audience spanning hundreds of millions.