Euro 2024 success further proves Yamal is the heir to Messi's crown

 

To his credit, Luke Shaw kept Lamine Yamal at bay in the first half of Sunday's Euro 2024 final. Thrown in for his first start since February, Shaw didn't put a foot wrong as England held Spain for the opening 45 minutes. However, a lack of match fitness proved telling shortly after the restart. 

 

While England supporters were celebrating Rodri's absence for the second half, the Manchester City man replaced at the break by Martin Zubimendi, they could only watch on as Yamal finally got the right side of Shaw. The 17-year-old played the ball into the feet of Nico Williams, who finished well past Jordan Pickford. The rest, as they say, is history. 

 

Yamal would go on to be crowned the young player of the tournament, and deservedly so. At 17 years of age, the Spaniard took Euro 2024 by storm, returning a WhoScored rating of 7.61 to make the team of the tournament having made more key passes (19), created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (8) and registered more assists (4) than any other player. 

 

 

While he scored just the once at Euro 2024, that was a decisive, and stunning, strike against one of the pre-tournament favourites France in the semi-finals. On one of the grandest stages of all, Yamal didn't disappoint. Still in the infancy of his career, his willingess to start from the right and cut onto his left is eerily similar of that of a certain Lionel Messi. 

 

Just as Yamal and Spain claimed a historic fourth European Championship, Messi captained Argentina to a record-setting 16th Copa America a few hours later. Granted, Messi didn't have the same impact in his final, coming off midway through the second half owing to an ankle injury, but Sunday night marked a milestone moment for the next generation of elite footballers.

 

With the likes of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo very much in the twilight years of their respective careers, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have been primed to dominate the scene for years to come. However, at least for the former, it's Yamal who is set to take over the Argentine's crown as one of the best in world football. When Adidas put up an image of The Goat and The Kid on their Instagram with Messi and Yamal's respective Barcelona numbers, they weren't kidding - no pun intended - around.

 

That may mean plenty of pressure piled on to the shoulders of the young Spaniard but his Euros performances after a fine La Liga season with Barcelona very much suggests he could carry that burden with ease. It's no wonder that Barcelona have inserted a €1bn release clause into Yamal's contract. He's so highly thought of at Camp Nou that suitors would have to pay the current world record transfer fee four times over to lure the wing-wizard away from Catalonia. 

 

 

Caution, though, must be applied. At one point, Ansu Fati was considered the natural heir to Messi's Barcelona throne yet injuries stunted the winger's development with the Blaugrana happy to send the youngster out on loan to Brighton last season as he struggled to rediscover the form he showed when he exploded onto the scene. Yamal and Barcelona will use Fati's struggles as a cautionary tale at the risk of pressuring the teen to perform at the highest standard week in, week out. 

 

What is clear, however, is that Yamal has both the ability and the mentality to succeed Messi as Barcelona's star player. The La Liga side have been crying out for a La Masia hero to step up to the plate in recent years and after a couple of false dawns; Yamal is very much looking to be the real deal. 

 

Spain and Argentina will lock horns next year in the Finalissima as the continental champions face off. Not only will the victor take home the Finalissima trophy, but the game itself is expected to hold greater significance. Football fans may bear witness to the passing of the torch as Messi steps down to allow Yamal to take the world by storm.

Euro 2024 success further proves Yamal is the heir to Messi's crown