Denzel Dumfries was outstanding for Inter in last week's Champions League clash with Barcelona, scoring two goals and creating another in an absorbing 3-3 draw. The Dutchman deserved his Player of the Match award - but he was by no means the star of the show. Lamine Yamal was the name on everyone's lips after another logic-defying display of quality from a 17-year-old that wowed the watching world.
"This guy is incredible," Manchester City striker Erling Haaland wrote on Snapchat. Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, struggled to find the words to describe Yamal: "Honestly, doing what he is doing at his age, what can you say?... He's unreal. It's not normal. No one does that."
And Saka's right: Yamal is unquestionably the finest teenage talent the game has ever seen. Nobody has ever been so good so young. Not Lionel Messi. Not Cristiano Ronaldo. And not even Pele.
Yamal lit up a Euro 2024 semi-final at 16. Now, he's taking the Champions League by storm. Consequently, the question is no longer whether Yamal is the best young player in the world, it's whether he's the best player in the world full stop...
