Vincent Kompany has heaped praise on Barcelona’s Spanish forward Lamine Yamal, hailing the wonderkid as the club’s natural heir to Lionel Messi.
Kompany noted Barca’s good timing – and fortune – to have such a prodigious talent in Lamal in their ranks, such a short time after Messi left the Catalan club in 2021.
The Bayern Munich boss was speaking ahead of his team’s Champions League matchday three clash with Barca on Wednesday evening at Camp Nou.
Messi’s departure from Barca for PSG was a major shock to the footballing world back in 2021, and it created shockwaves that reverberated around the club that would affect it for years.
Kompany praised Yamal and the club for placing their trust in him. He said: ‘It’s exceptional for Barca as a club [to have Yamal] so shortly after the departure of a player like Messi.
Vincent Kompany has hailed the talents of Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal (pictured)
Bayern boss Kompany (pictured) says Yamal is a natural replacement for Lionel Messi
Messi left Barca back in 2021, in a move that created shockwaves around the footballing world
‘For my generation, Messi was one of the key figures of our era. To shortly after this player leaving already have potentially a player who can replace him is quite unique.
Now, Lamal has already had a huge impact on his the Spanish giants at just 17 years of age. He has made 47 LaLiga appearances since breaking through into the first team last season, aged 16, and has scored nine goals already.
He is already appearing to be a talismanic figure within the Hansi Flick-managed side, and is well on his way to walking in the footsteps of his boyhood hero, Messi.
Kompany added Barcelona’s academy system, La Masia, can take much of the credit as it has developed Lamal as a youngster much in the same way it did Messi.
‘Full credit to La Masia for always trusting these players and giving them the chance.
However, Kompany did stress Yamal won’t be the receiving the full focus of his team, like some of managers of old would have done with Messi.
‘The question for us is not about stopping [Yamal], but trying to win a game against Barcelona, which means [stopping] all the players, not one.
‘The focus is on the team, not one player, but he’s an exceptional player.’
Yamal has already had a dramatic impact on Hansi Flick’s Barcelona side
Bayern face-off against the current LaLiga leaders in Spain on Wednesday night, in their third tie in the revamped Champions League format.
They opened their European campaign back in September by sensationally beating Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb 9-2, but dramatically lost to Aston Villa 1-0 weeks later at Villa Park.
Barcelona have endured similar fortunes – they lost their first game 1-0 to Monaco before hammering Swiss side Young Boys 5-0 at the beginning of October.
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