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Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has singled out Brazilian football legend Pelé as the rare modern-day example of a player who achieved extraordinary success at a very young age.
Yamal made the remark while reflecting on his own rapid rise and the achievements of football greats including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Maradona in an interview with Jorge Valdano on Movistar+’s Universo Valdano.
“There have been great stars in football, like Leo [Messi], like Cristiano [Ronaldo] or like Diego [Maradona], whom I have not been able to see play, but never before had so much been won so early,” Yamal said.
“There is the case of Pelé, who did win many things very young, but recently, no,” the Barcelona star added, identifying the Brazilian as an exceptional case among football’s greats.
Yamal, 19, has already collected major honours with Barcelona and Spain, including La Liga and the World Cup, putting him among the most successful young players of his generation. His comments showed that he is conscious of how unusual his achievements are when measured against the careers of previous football greats.
Rather than becoming satisfied with what he has already achieved, however, Yamal said he remains determined to add more trophies and establish himself permanently among football’s greatest names.
“And there are people who think that because I have already won so much at some point I will relax, but I know that I have a thousand things left to do to remain in the history of football,” he said.
Pelé remains one of the strongest examples of teenage success in football, having won his first World Cup with Brazil at 17 in 1958 before going on to become the only player to win the tournament three times. Yamal’s reference to him therefore underlines the scale of the standard the Barcelona youngster believes he must continue to pursue.
