Lamine Yamal’s dazzling display against Inter Milan hasn’t gone unnoticed in England. Pundits and former players are now asking if the FC Barcelona wonderkid might actually be the best player in the world right now.

Messi comparisons and praise from the UK

“Is Lamine Yamal the best player in the world?” That was the bold headline on BBC Sport, which also highlighted what Jamie Carragher had to say on CBS after the match: “Watching Lamine is like watching Messi in his prime. When he gets the ball, the whole game seems to stop—everyone’s just waiting to see what he’ll do.”

Carragher added that while people have always expected Mbappé and Haaland to dominate the era, “after what Yamal did tonight… I’m not saying he’s better than Mbappé, but he’s definitely got something special, and there’s still so much more to come.”

A rising superstar

BBC pundit Stephen Warnock called him a future Ballon d’Or winner, while Ally McCoist from TNT Sports admitted he had never seen a first half like the one Yamal just played: “It was unreal.”

Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United legend, said you could feel something special in the air walking through Barcelona before the match: “When Messi left, it left a hole. But now you’ve got this kid, and at just 17, he’s doing things we’ve never seen before. The calmness, the ease—it’s insane.”

British media also pointed out a stunning stat comparison: at 17 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo had played 19 games, scored 5 goals and made 4 assists. Lionel Messi had 9 games, 1 goal and no assists. Lamine Yamal? He’s already got 100 games, 22 goals and 33 assists to his name.