Xavi Compares Barcelona Youngster Lamine Yamal to Superstar Lionel Messi

• Lamine Yamal made his professional debut for Barcelona at only 15
• Yamal has earned high praise from Xavi after his performance against Real Betis
• 15-year-old Yamal is officially the youngest player to feature for Barcelona

There’s no higher honour than being compared to Lionel Messi.

The Argentinian superstar is undoubtedly Barcelona’s favourite son, having made a name for himself at the club as a youngster.

Lamine Yamal is now being compared to the World Cup winner, and he's only 15 years old. As noted by BBC, Yamal became Barcelona's youngest player when he made his debut against Real Betis in La Liga. He came on as a substitute during Barca's 4-0 win, and his performance earned rave reviews, especially from Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez.

The Barcelona manager was full of praise for Yamal's performance, and how he handled himself during his first appearance for the club, Goal reported. "He played with confidence, and he showed what he is about. He has no fear and bags of talent. Some of his passes in the final third were really good."

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Xavi also spoke about whether Yamal could be compared to former player Messi, and current youngster Ansu Fati, adding that they were very similar

"He's a similar player because he has that innate talent in the final third, which is difficult to find," he added.

Yamal’s stunning pass on debut

15-year-old Lamine Yamal made his debut for Barcelona and impressed everyone with his performance.

The youngster nearly scored shortly after coming on and then produced a stunning pass in the 89th minute, Sports Brief reported.

Yamal threaded through a glorious defence-splitting pass for Ousmane Dembele, but the Frenchman couldn’t finish it off.

Yamal make Barcelona history

15-year-old forward Lamine Yamal has made Barcelona history with his appearance against Real Betis.

The player became the youngest-ever player for the Catalan side in La Liga.

The winger replaced Gavi with four minutes plus stoppage time remaining to make his debut at 15 years, nine months and 16 days old.