Topics: Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona, FC Barcelona
Lamine Yamal could one day become the best player in the world if his career trajectory continues - but Barcelona teammate Robert Lewandowski has sent the teenager an important message if he wants to achieve that feat.
Yamal is aged just 17 but has already won the La Liga title with Barcelona and the European Championships with Spain over the summer, after being part of the side which beat England 2-1 in the final of Euro 2024.
The teenager, who has already been listed among the top youngsters on the planet, made his Barcelona debut aged just 15 in 2023 and has gone on to score 11 goals in 59 games for the Camp Nou side since then.
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Yamal is at the opposite end of his career compared to striker Lewandowski, who is now 36 and joined Barca back in 2022 from Bayern Munich for a reported initial transfer fee of €45 million and penned a four-year contract.
He has gone on to score 66 goals in 103 games with the Poland international one of the most prolific goalscorers of the modern era and will surely go down as among the greatest strikers of all-time.
Yamal recently made more history when he became the second youngest scorer in Champions League history when he netted in the loss to Monaco, only behind teammate Ansu Fati, who can no longer get a game for the club.
Lewandowski has now had his say on whether Yamal can become the greatest player in the world one day.
While the veteran striker believes the teenager has the capability to do just that, he outlined how Yamal must approach his career as it progresses to tackle the up-and-down nature of the game.
In an era dominated by social media and fans having a microscopic view on player's performances these days, the Pole believes his teammate must remain grounded as he gets older.
Asked by Bleacher Report if Yamal can become the best player in the world, Lewandowski said: "Of course. Now it will be easy to say 'of course I see him as the best winger in the world' but of course he is 17 years old.
"A football career is so long. Sometimes it's not important how you start, more important is how you finish or how will be the next years. Not two or three years, but the next 10-15 years.
"In the next 15 years, he will be 32. When I see the new generation, they have a huge challenge in the social media. One day you are the hero, but next day you are on the ground.
"I wish him that he will be strong for a long career and it doesn't matter what people are saying now or what people are going to say, he stays on the ground and thinking 'that is the part of my life, the football that I want to enjoy, I want to give the fans a lot of happiness'.
"In the end, he needs to understand that football is like a part of life - that was in my mind and I know that maybe I'm older, so it's for me easier to accept.
"Lamine in this moment is like at the peak of the hype, but it's more important the people who are around him are staying normal and explain to him that football is not only five moments that take not even two or three years, but 10 or 15 or 17 years more for him."
