Lionel Messi's former Barcelona coach reveals who is better at 17 between him and Lamine Yamal

Lionel Messi's former Barcelona coach has given his verdict on if Lamine Yamal is a better player at the age of 17.

After bursting onto the scene straight out of Barcelona's famous La Masia academy, Yamal has quickly established himself as one of the best footballers in the world.

His impressive and dominant performances for the La Liga giants have immediately led to fans comparing Yamal's quick rise to glory to that of club legend Messi.

And now, one of Messi's former Barcelona coaches has weighed in to give his view on the comparisons between Yamal and a young Messi.

On Wednesday, Yamal played a key role in Barcelona's comeback in a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final match with Inter Milan.

While covering the match live for Dutch outlet Ziggo Sport, former Real Madrid and Inter star Wesley Sneijder revealed that he received a text from Henk ten Cate, Messi's former coach, claiming Yamal could already have surpassed Messi's early career.

Speaking on Ziggo Sport, Sneijder said: "Henk ten Cate just said that Yamal is already further along than Messi was at that age. And he has experienced Messi up close.

"Yes, I had app contact with Henk. He told me. We have to believe that, because he was close. So then we believe that: Yamal is further along."

Although some fans may be surprised to hear this, when you compare the statistics of Yamal and Messi when he was 17, there is one clear winner.

At 17 years old, Messi had made just nine appearances for Barcelona, scoring only one goal and registering zero assists.

Meanwhile Yamal already boasts 100 appearances for the La Liga side, averaging at least one goal contribution a game with 22 goals and 33 assists.

Of course, Yamal still has a long way to go if he hopes to match Messi's legendary career that has seen him score 858 goals and win several of the biggest trophies in football including the World Cup and a record eight Ballon d'Ors.

Lamine Yamal is already being compared with some of the best players of all-time. (Image: Getty)

How does Yamal compare to Messi and Ronaldo at 17?

As a 17-year-old, Cristiano Ronaldo was ahead of his future rival Messi having made 19 appearances for Portuguese side Sporting, scoring five goals and assisting four.

But these statistics still put him well behind Yamal, who also boasts the fact that he won a major international trophy with Spain long before either Ronaldo or Messi did so with Portugal or Argentina.

Following Yamal's impressive performances in Spain's title-winning Euro 2024 campaign, Ronaldo was asked for his thoughts on the youngster while speaking with former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand.

Speaking on the Cristiano YouTube channel, Ronaldo said: “I see huge potential, great talent.

"He'll need luck because he is very young , I hope he does not have any problems

"He was in a contest that helped him a lot, he was in the Spain national team which is really really good and I think he has huge potential.

"But let's see during his way what's going to happen but I believe he is gonna be one of the best players in this generation."