Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has insisted that Lamine Yamal must work hard and continue to replicate his performance against Inter Milan to reach the level of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are ranked among the greatest players to have ever played football with both players still putting in impressive performance. Yamal has since been tipped to dethrone both superstars as he continues to make his way to the top.
Yamal, 17, continued his impressive form for Barcelona as he scored the club’s first goal in their entertaining 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
His performance attracted praises from the football world, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi labelled him a talent that only comes along every 50 years, while Flick called him a genius after the match.
Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring Barca’s fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final First Leg match against Borussia Dortmund. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
“He knows what I want from him,” Flick said ahead of Saturday’s LaLiga game against Real Valladolid when asked what the next step is for Yamal.
“When you are able to play at this level, you have to show it again. It’s not about one game. Every player has potential to get better and this is also what he needs.
“It’s not only the talent, the genius he is, it’s also hard work when you want to reach this level, [like Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Lionel] Messi, the big, big players in the past.
“We all have to stay calm and let’s see what happens. We are really happy that he’s playing with us and he’s on this level at 17, it’s unbelievable.
“We know he also has to work hard to [maintain] this and maybe to get better and better. I think also he wants this. It’s not the end.”
With Barcelona also preparing for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal match with Inter, Yamal, who has scored 15 goals and created 24 more this season, is one of several players who could rest when Barça travel to bottom of the table Valladolid in LaLiga on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is set to come into the side for his first appearance since injuring his knee in September.
“Marc will be back,” Flick revealed. “He is in a good way. His performances in training are great.
“I think it’s also good for Tek [Wojciech Szczesny] to recover a little bit. I am not thinking about [definitive] changes until the end of the season. It’s the Valladolid game and then we see.”
