Sport
Rio Ferdinand Claims Lamine Yamal is Better Than 16 Year Old Messi
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has sparked a debate by declaring that Lamine Yamal is ahead of Lionel Messi at the same age.
Like Messi, Yamal emerged from Barça’s prestigious La Masia youth academy, known for producing world-class talents.
He made his first-team debut in a La Liga match in April 2023, and since then, he has become a regular starter for the Catalan giants.
Ferdinand shared his admiration for Yamal at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, where he couldn’t hold back his excitement.
“I love Lamine Yamal. What a player. That’s why I’m here today.
I want to see him, I want to hug him,” he said.
He went further, comparing Yamal’s current level to Messi’s during his teenage years.
“Messi at this age? At 16? Lamine is influencing matches, making decisive plays, scoring goals, and playing beautiful football.
He’s magical,” Ferdinand remarked.
Yamal’s exceptional ball control, mesmerizing dribbling, and creative playmaking have drawn parallels to Messi, with many tipping him as the next big thing in football.
However, Ferdinand cautiously added, “I don’t want to say Lamine Yamal will become the best player of all time, but I think he can.”
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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