{"id":4816,"date":"2026-07-19T05:07:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4816"},"modified":"2026-07-19T05:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T05:07:50","slug":"lamine-yamal-is-ready-to-play-for-spain-not-against-his-childhood-hero-lionel-messi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4816","title":{"rendered":"Lamine Yamal is ready to play for Spain \u2014not against his childhood hero, Lionel Messi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Spain\u2019s Lamine Yamal is one win from placing himself in soccer immortality. But with immortality comes the cost of dethroning his childhood hero, Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

Read more Super-rich California couple spends $250K on childcare \u2014 including baby chefs<\/a><\/p>\n

Yamal spoke to Diarro de Navarra back on June 19 ahead of their second group-stage match against Saudi Arabia and was asked about Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that in every match he shows that he is the best player in history,\u201d said Yamal of Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone has doubts, it is because they are looking for them; there is nothing more to say there. For me, he is the best,\u201d said Yamal in Spanish. <\/p>\n

Yamal grew up idolizing Neymar when he played for Barcelona, but his love and admiration for Messi goes all the way back to when he was a baby, as a photo recently surfaced on social media channels of Messi taking a photo with Yamal as an infant.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Manosphere\u2019 influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested on rape, sex trafficking charges in Florida<\/a><\/p>\n

At 39 years old, Sunday could potentially be Messi\u2019s final World Cup match, but ironically, it\u2019s the first matchup between Yamal and the Argentine legend.<\/p>\n

During this year\u2019s World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been Messi\u2019s longtime rival, made a shocking announcement that this year was his final tournament at 41 years old.<\/p>\n

The tide in soccer is shifting after Ronaldo\u2019s departure from the World Cup and with an unclear future for Messi.<\/p>\n

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Read more Furious Trump launches revenge attacks on Iran after Islamic Republic kills 2 American servicemembers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spain’s Lamine Yamal spoke about his admiration for Argentina’s Lionel Messi back in June, now the two will face each other in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"yoast_head":"\nLamine Yamal is ready to play for Spain \u2014not against his childhood hero, Lionel Messi - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4816\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lamine Yamal is ready to play for Spain \u2014not against his childhood hero, Lionel Messi - 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