FC Barcelona continues to produce world-class talent, and it is no secret that it is a long-standing tradition. La Masia has always been widely regarded as the world’s best youth academy, and the fruits are there for the club to pluck. This time around, however, Barcelona is also quite reliant on La Masia to help them out.
Previously, it was the magic and consistency of Lionel Messi that continued to save the team. From his otherworldly goalscoring feats to his supernatural dribbling, Messi created a sense of inevitability whenever he was on the pitch and Barcelona needed for him to step up.
Now, however, they do not have Messi’s talents to rely on anymore to bail them out of tricky situations. Instead, they have found another successor to Messi from La Masia as well. This one, however, goes beyond just trying to replicate his style but instead has done much more in trying to replicate his impact on the field.
The player in question is none other than 17-year-old Barcelona and Spanish gem Lamine Yamal. Now a poster boy for the club, the youngster continues to break new records as if it is something out of habit for him. Even right now, he continues to lead Europe’s top five leagues in a statistic that was almost synonymous with Lionel Messi himself a few years ago.
As per the data compiled by WhoScored, the 17-year-old Barcelona prodigy is the player across Europe’s top five leagues who has completed the most number of dribbles this season thus far. His total tally of completed dribbles is 15 so far, and it remains the best in Europe so far.
While it has only been four games in La Liga so far, this statistic clearly showcases the impact that young Lamine Yamal has on this Barcelona team. In fact, over the last 16 games, the young Spanish winger has not even tasted defeat for either club or country and has scored 3 goals while providing 11 assists.