SPORTS

Is Lamine Yamal The Next Messi?

By REDIFF SPORTS
July 15, 2024 13:37 IST

IMAGE: Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, July 13, 2024, celebrates winning the Young Player of the Tournament award with his baby brother, July 14, 2024. Photograph: X
 

Spain teenage sensation Lamine Yamal was rightfully awarded the Best Young Player of the Tournament as Spain trumped England 2-1 to lift the Euro Championships 2024 in Berlin on Sunday.

Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, celebrated with his baby brother after receiving the trophy in recognition of his individual brilliance.

On receiving the trophy, Yamal said: 'This is the greatest birthday present I've ever received.'

Yamal finished with 4 assists -- including feeding the ball to Nico Williams, who slotted in the opening goal in the final -- and 1 brilliant goal in the semi-final, as he stamped his class at the continental tournament for the last four weeks.

At the post match press conference, Nico Williams -- who turned 22 on Friday, July 12, 2024 -- was all praise for Yamal.

'Lamine Yamal is great, you all saw him in this tournament, he won the best young player award in this tournament, and he is proving himself day after day, I think he has no limits,' Nico, who has assumed the role of Yamal's big brother in the Spanish team, said.

'Besides being a great player and a good person, he has a clear vision for things and, frankly, he makes me proud.'

Yamal hails from Rocafonda, a part of the town of Mataro, a province of immigrants in Barcelona, and one of the poorest areas of Spain.

Whenever Yamal scores a goal, he celebrates it by noting the numbers 304, part of the postal code for Rocafonda, a tribute to his origins.

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