Barcelona have their perfect 10: Lamine Yamal is ready for weight of Lionel Messi's iconic shirt number - but he must avoid falling into Neymar trap

After many months of anticipation, Lamine Yamal finally signed his new six-year contract at Barcelona on Wednesday. That agreement reportedly made the teenage winger the highest-paid player in Hansi Flick’s squad on an annual salary of €30 million ($34 million), which is a reward for his incredible contribution to the team’s domestic treble success in 2024-25.

But perhaps most importantly, Yamal was also bestowed with the No.10 jersey previously worn by Lionel Messi. That iconic shirt was vacated when Ansu Fati joined Monaco on loan earlier this summer, with the academy graduate ultimately unable to handle the weight of history that came with it.

It’s very difficult to imagine Yamal experiencing the same problem, though. "I don’t feel pressure; I’m at the best club in the world. Messi has made his way, I’m going to make mine, and the ’10’ comes from Ansu anyway. I’ll try to make my own way," he told Barca’s official media channels.

That fearlessness is what has set Yamal apart from his peers since his stunning breakthrough in the senior team. Walking the same path as Messi, and the likes of Ronaldinho, Romario and Diego Maradona before him, does not faze the Spain international. After all, he had already racked up 74 goal contributions for club and country en route to winning four major titles, including the European Championship, prior to turning 18 on July 13.

Yamal may even become the youngest Ballon d’Or winner ever later this year, having consistently delivered awe-inspiring performances in the biggest matches. The sky is the limit if he continues on his current trajectory. But to do that, Yamal will have to avoid the same trap Neymar fell into back when the Brazilian also had the world at his feet in Catalonia.

It’s very difficult to imagine Yamal experiencing the same problem, though. “I don’t feel pressure; I’m at the best club in the world. Messi has made his way, I’m going to make mine, and the ’10’ comes from Ansu anyway. I’ll try to make my own way,” he told Barca’s official media channels.

Yamal’s new contract has been somewhat overshadowed by the headlines generated from his lavish 18th birthday party last Sunday. It has been reported that around 200 guests attended the bash at a rented country mansion in the town of Olivella, including a host of musicians and influencers as well as team-mates Robert Lewandowski, Alejandro Balde, Gavi and Raphinha.

As per Idealista there was a cocktail bar area and gourmet catering, while a huge cake decorated with chocolate pistols and wads of banknotes was rolled in to fit the ‘Italian Mafia’ party theme. Yamal set the tone by wearing a striking all-white suit complete with a red rose and diamond-encrusted cane.

But controversy was sparked when a group of dwarves was filmed heading to the venue. They were allegedly hired by Yamal to provide entertainment, which has been described as “unacceptable in the 21st century” by the Association of People with Achondroplasia and other Skeletal Dysplasias in Spain (ADEE).

The ADEE also filed a complaint with the Spanish government calling for a full investigation “to determine whether the law and, therefore, the rights of people with disabilities have been violated”.

One of the dwarves who was allegedly present at the party has since insisted to RAC1 that everything was above board and “we do this job because we want to”, but, at best, the whole incident will go down as a serious error of misjudgement on Yamal’s part and, at worst, his reputation could be permanently tarnished.

According to Spanish journalist Pipi Estrada, Barcelona are “very worried” about Yamal’s behaviour away from the pitch this summer. The teenage ace was also seen on holiday with OnlyFans model Fati Vazquez, and he visited former Barca star Neymar at his home in Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro.

Yamal documented his trip to Brazil for his fans on social media as he played footvolley with Neymar, relaxed by the swimming pool and exchanged shirts with the Santos poster boy, who is currently trying to rebuild his career at his childhood club after an injury-plagued spell in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal. But the Daily Mail has reported that concerns have been raised over Neymar being a potentially ‘bad influence’ on Yamal.

Neymar initially developed a party-goer reputation at Barcelona between 2013 and 2017, which threatened to get out of control after his world-record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. The Brazil international made more headlines for his appearances at nightclubs in the French capital than he did for his footballing exploits, and was regularly criticised for a perceived lack of commitment.

Some of that was a touch unfair given Neymar was also dealt a cruel hand with injuries, but there’s no doubt he didn’t do enough to justify his €222 million (£200m/$262m) price tag at the Parc des Princes. In that sense, perhaps Neymar is not the best role model for Yamal as he starts to take on even greater responsibility at Barcelona.

Neymar achieved great things at Barcelona, winning La Liga and the Champions League while forming part of the acclaimed ‘MSN’ front three alongside Messi and Luis Suarez, but the consensus is that he never quite reached his full potential. That could be a mindset issue, but it’s also possible he just didn’t strike the perfect balance between work and play.

Yamal shrugged off the backlash around his 18th birthday party by saying, “I work for Barca, but when I’m outside the training ground, I enjoy my life” – which is absolutely fine, but he must be careful to ensure he doesn’t become distracted. If Yamal allows his level to drop even slightly, and Barcelona suffer a dip in results, he will be subject to the same widespread disapproval that Neymar endured.

Even though Yamal is just a kid who is still maturing physically and mentally, he will be judged as an adult because he’s already earned a standing among football’s elite. Fortunately, he has a strong support network.

According to BBC Sport columnist Guillem Ballague, Yamal’s parents “play a crucial role in keeping his feet on the ground” and are not afraid to “tell it as it is”. They have not only helped to nurture Yamal’s singular talent, but also drummed into his head the importance of hard work and striving for excellence.

“My ambition is simple: to keep winning and improving every day – I’m still young, and there’s so much ahead of me,” Yamal added at his contract signing. As long as he maintains that attitude, the future is very bright, for him and Barcelona.

Yamal has the competitive edge required to be one of the greats, but also plays with a carefree abandon that makes him so thrilling to watch. That’s why he is so often compared to Messi, who was similarly bold and creative in his early years at Barca, but the Argentine magician has always been a quiet character who doesn’t seek out the spotlight.

In stark contrast, Yamal seems to relish it. He’s reportedly one of the loudest members of the current Barca dressing room, and has no qualms about using social media as a tool to wind up his rivals or detractors.

While Messi took time to adjust to fame, Yamal is seemingly unburdened by self-consciousness. That may go some way to explaining why he is actually a lot further ahead in his development than Messi was at the same age.

Indeed, Yamal has played 200 more minutes for Barcelona than Messi had managed by the time he’d turned 21. At 18, Messi had just one professional goal to his name and no assists, while he had yet to win his first cap for Argentina. Yamal has already scored 25 goals in a Barca shirt and set up another 34, and has made 21 appearances for Spain.

Those statistics are simply extraordinary, but even more impressive is the fact that Barca already rely on Yamal as their main source of inspiration, which was not the case for Messi until Ronaldinho left the club.

It would be easy for Yamal to get caught up in his own hype. Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri also shone as Barcelona stormed to La Liga and Copa del Rey glory while making it through to the Champions League semi-finals last season, but Yamal took most of the plaudits.

Some of his performances were truly breathtaking, including in the first leg of Barca’s instant classic European tie against Inter. The two clubs played out a 3-3 draw at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, and Yamal absolutely terrorised the Inter defence from the first minute to the last.

He scored a brilliant solo goal to get Barca back into the game after Inter had established an early 2-0 lead, hit the woodwork twice, posted six successful take-ons, and touched the ball 102 times in total. “Lamine is the kind of talent that comes along every 50 years,” former Inter boss Simone Inzaghi said after the game.

Meanwhile, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand declared in the TNT Sports studio: “As a pure football talent, I’m going as far as to say I think Lamine Yamal is on another level to any player playing the game in the top five leagues in world football.” On that night, no one could disagree with that assessment.

It’s a minor miracle that Yamal doesn’t have an ego like Cristiano Ronaldo’s already with all the adulation that has come his way. But extremely confident as Barca’s new prized asset is, he also has the same humility that made Messi so endearing. “The truth is that I’m indifferent to both criticism and praise, unless it comes from my family or people very close to me, because otherwise, one day I’ll be very high and the next I’ll be very low,” he told reporters this week.

As a fleet-footed right-winger who loves to cut inside on his stronger left foot, Yamal will never be able to escape the Messi comparisons, but they are very different. Messi was the ultimate playmaker, revered as much for his close control and ability to dictate games as for his output in the final third, while Yamal has a more direct style of play and is almost unstoppable in one-on-one situations.

“I see him more similar to Neymar. The dribbling, how quickly he thinks to get past defenders. Just when you think you can take the ball from him, he does something you’ve never seen in your life,” Raphinha said of his Barca colleague in an interview with El Pais in November.

Yamal also has Neymar’s carefree ‘samba’ spirit, which makes it seem like the pitch is his playground. Combined with the same genius-level footballing IQ as Messi, Barcelona’s new No.10 has the potential to be the best yet.

That may seem far-fetched given Messi scored a record 709 goals for Barcelona on his way to winning 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues, but it’s possible we could watch Yamal light up Catalonia for another 20 years if he has his way.

“I’ll give everything to make the fans happy,” he vowed on Wednesday. “This is my lifetime club and the best in the world.” This is still only the beginning of Yamal’s story, and the next chapter promises to be even more gripping.