Lamine Yamal has praised a man he met when he was very young, Lionel Messi, as the best player of the past FIFA World Cup. Yamal won the tournament with Spain, beating Messi’s Argentina in the final.
“Lionel Messi was the best player at the World Cup because of everything he represents and everything he did,” he told Movistar.
Messi was second in goals at the World Cup, surpassed only by Kylian Mbappé through the third place match. He was also second in assists after Michael Olise. In addition, Messi led
among several statistical categories. He had the most dribbles completed, one more than Yamal. He also led in key passes and big chances created. Rating apps and pundits consistently rated Messi as the best player of the last World Cup, too.
Despite his statistical dominance, Messi did not win the tournament’s official award for best player. Spain’s Rodri, who now also plays for Barcelona, won instead. Yamal’s words are unusual in that they favor a player he has never had as a teammate over a current one, but then again, this is Messi we are talking about.
The Argentina captain’s connection to Yamal is longstanding, having bathed Yamal as a baby for a charity photoshoot.
At 39, Messi was considered well past his prime by many to have another World Cup like he had in 2022, when he was awarded as the best player in a trophy-winning run for Argentina in Qatar. He surprised many by being at a similar level in 2026.
“Even though everyone knows Messi is the best player in history, nobody expected him to have such an incredible World Cup,” Yamal said.
