10-04-2025
FC Barcelona Legend Koeman Compares Lionel Messi And Lamine Yamal
FC Barcelona legend and former head coach Ronald Koeman touched on comparisons between Lionel Messi ... More and Lamine Yamal, plus a range of other topics, while speaking to mark the launch of the Koeman Cup golf tournament.
FC Barcelona legend and former head coach Ronald Koeman touched on comparisons between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, plus a range of other topics, while speaking to mark the launch of the Koeman Cup golf tournament.
As left-footed prodigious La Masia products, Lamine and Messi are often compared to one another though Lamine himself has been keen to play down such talk.
Koeman would also prefer that, saying 'we should not compare Lamine with Leo Messi'.
'Yamal is very good but Messi is unique. We will not see a player like him again,' Koeman predicted, in a similar train of thought as Fabio Capello.
Lamine is of course one of the lead stars of Hansi Flick's current side, which is being talked up as a favourite to win a first Champions League crown since 2015.
'I don't think Barça are the big favourites,' Koeman stated. 'It's one of them, because PSG or Arsenal are teams that can also win it. But Barça are very good, you can see that the youngsters are two years older and have matured.'
Arsenal of course isn't exactly out of the woods just yet though it boasts a 3-0 advantage over Barca's arch nemesis heading into a quarterfinals second leg at the Bernabeu next week.
'If there is a team that can come back, it is Madrid. But it has to improve a lot. With the ball and without the ball. I hope Arsenal have personality,' Koeman warned.
Defensive work and collective commitment is seen as one of the main differences between Barca and Madrid - in addition to who runs more - at the moment, which Koeman also raised.
'Barca has a plan. In football you can't defend with eight. We have to defend with eleven,' Koeman said.
Now overseeing the Netherlands but once managing him at Camp Nou, Koeman knows Frenkie de Jong well and discussed his future amid reports he is ready to renew for the Blaugrana.
'I'm very happy for Frenkie. I have spoken to him a lot and I know that he has suffered a lot. He wants to stay at Barça for more years. All the teams would like to have Frenkie and I hope Barça will be able to secure him for the future,' Koeman wished.
