Yamal or Vinicius Jr? Ex-Spain star ‘likes’ Barcelona star ‘much more’ with Messi comparison made

Former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna says he prefers FC Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal to Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior.

Yamal has been outstanding for the Blaugrana since breaking into their first team under Xavi last season.

He made his debut when he was 15, coming off the bench in a 4-0 La Liga victory at home to Real Betis in April 2023.

The 17-year-old was a mainstay in the Barcelona team last season, scoring seven and assisting nine in 50 appearances across all competitions.

His superb form at club level carried over into Euro 2024, being named Young Player of the Tournament as Spain won the whole thing.

Yamal might be the best 16-year-old footballer we have ever seen and he has nearly matched his goal contributions total from last season already in 2024/25, contributing to 10 goals in as many matches.

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Vinicius Jr, meanwhile, is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or after winning La Liga and the Champions League with Real Madrid , scoring in the final of the latter.

It is not really a debate about who is the better player at this moment in time, but Yamal certainly has the potential to become better than the Brazilian.

However, Marcos Senna – a Euro 2008 winner with Spain – ‘likes Yamal much more’ because he reminds him of Lionel Messi.

Yamal or Vinicius Jr? ‘I like Yamal much more’ – Senna

Explaining why he prefers the 17-year-old to Vinicius, Senna said: “They are both great players, but I like Yamal much more. The reason is that it has pause.

“When I was asked before who I preferred, Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], I always preferred Messi because of that, because of the pause. He had more presence in the game. More diversity in the pass… other things.

“Vinicius sometimes makes passes that are brutal. The other day he gave Rodrygo one with Espanyol that seemed to have been given by Modric… but Yamal hits it much better and in the one-on-one fills the eyes more.

“If I already had the speed of Vinicius I would be the perfect dribbler.”

Speaking about the race to win the Ballon d’Or, Senna continued: “Without a doubt Vinicius would be in my top three candidates for the best player in the world last season. It has been going on for some very good seasons now.

“I also bring on Rodrigo, from Manchester City, who unfortunately has been injured.

“The third one maybe attracts attention but I would put [Kylian] Mbappe in. Because last year it’s true that he didn’t win anything really top, like a Champions League or the Euro, but he’s a player who goes in for sure. It is always different.”

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