Lamine Yamal's meteoric career is inevitably leading him to the Ballon d'Or, a feat he could achieve at the age of 18. Something never heard of before.
At the age of 16 he became known to the world. And at 17 he's already a world soccer star, one that deserves a lot of credit.
This year, the Ballon d'Or has come a little early for him. Even so, he's is among the finalists and will end up in a prominent place in the rankings.
But next season, if his results at Barça and the national team go his way, the Ballon d'Or will be his great challenge.
Ronaldo Nazario's Record Could Fall
If he does win, at 18 years old, he would become the youngest winner in history. This would mean another reason for La Masia to be proud, which has already won seven with Messi. La Masia also boasted about the photo of the three finalists, Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, trained in the blaugrana youth academy.
Until now, the honor belongs to Ronaldo Nazario. The Brazilian star won the Ballon d'Or at the age of 21 and 3 months in 1997. It was after his only successful campaign as a player for FC Barcelona.
Ronaldo's record, like so many others, is within reach of Lamine Yamal, who's on his way to becoming world number one.
For now, he's already taken an important first step towards achieving his goal. He's become the most valuable player in the history of Spanish soccer.
His current value, 150 million, is the highest ever obtained by a Spanish footballer.
He made his debut for Barça in La Liga at the age of 15. The following summer, Transfermarkt valued him at 25 million euros.
A year later he won the European Championship with Spain and reached 120 million. Today his value is 150 million.
The Fifth Most Valuable Player in the World... being 17 Years Old
Lamine Yamal is currently the fifth most valuable player in the world . He only has four more players ahead of him: Haaland (200 million), Vinícius (200 million), Mbappé (180 million) and Bellingham (180 million). He has them all within his reach at just 17 years old.
Lamine has also surpassed Rodri, who, at 130 million, was until now the most valued Spanish footballer. His emergence has surpassed that of his teammates Gavi and Pedri, although in their cases injuries prevented him from breaking the 100-million barrier.
And while waiting to beat Ronaldo in the Ballon d'Or, he's already the first footballer to surpass 120 million before turning 18.