Lamine Yamal will reportedly inherit Lionel Messi’s iconic No 10 shirt at Barcelona after signing a new contract with the club this summer.

Despite only being 17, Yamal has emerged as a Ballon d’Or contender this season after winning the Euros with Spain last year, and is widely viewed as the game’s biggest talent since Messi burst onto the scene almost 20 years ago.

Similarities have been drawn between the pair, and Yamal now looks set to follow in Messi’s footsteps once again.

According to Memorabilia1899.co, Yamal will celebrate his 18th birthday in July by signing a new long-term contract with Barcelona that will contain a €1bn (£841m) release clause.

The deal will also see Yamal handed the No 10 shirt which is currently occupied by Ansu Fati.

Fati is facing an uncertain future at Barcelona, and will have the famous jersey taken off him by Yamal, who has been donning the No 19 shirt this season.

Lamine Yamal will reportedly take the No 10 shirt when he signs a new Barcelona deal

This will signify another historic moment in Yamal’s fledgling career, after he made his Barcelona debut two years ago when he was only 15.

Since then, he has won LaLiga twice, and starred in Barcelona’s run to the Champions League semi-finals this season before they were knocked out by Inter Milan in a thrilling tie.

Yamal looks primed to dazzle in the No 10 shirt for years to come, just like Messi did after he took the jersey in 2008.

Messi made the shirt his own for 13 years, winning the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions during this period, before adding another to his collection in 2023 after winning the World Cup the previous year with Argentina.

The Argentine icon finished his Barcelona career in 2021 with a staggering 672 goals in 778 appearances, plus 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League triumphs to his name.

Yamal has big boots to fill, but has already shown that he can light up the biggest stages.

The winger had pundits purring over his ability earlier this month after Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter, as Rio Ferdinand hailed him as the best player in the world, while Jamie Carragher compared him to a prime Messi.

Ferdinand wrote on X: ‘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 5 leagues in world football.

Yamal claimed his second LaLiga title last week, and lifted the trophy over the weekend

Meanwhile, Carragher said on CBS Sports: ‘That (performance) was Messi-esque. That was like watching Messi in his heyday.

‘The whole game almost stopping to just see what he was going to do. It was just brilliant.’

Dailymail.co.uk

Stunning goals from Lamine Yamal and Fermin Lopez were not enough to prevent recently crowned La Liga champions Barcelona losing at home to Villarreal.

The visitors clinched a place in the top five and next season’s Champions League with the comeback success.

Hansi Flick’s side had secured a 28th top flight title on Thursday with a 2-0 win over rivals Espanyol, but didn’t look particularly hungover after celebrating with 650,000 fans on the streets of Barcelona on Friday.

Though former Newcastle and Leicester striker Ayoze Perez converted Nicolas Pepe’s cross to give Villarreal a fourth-minute lead, the hosts responded well to take a half-time lead.

Remarkably, despite winning a league and cup double, Barcelona have now conceded first in 20 games in all competitions this season, but have gone on to win nine of those games and draw two.

Teenager Yamal struck his ninth league goal of the season with a trademark finish, cutting inside the defender before curling a low left-footed strike into the far corner

Fermin put Barca ahead in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, less than a minute after Yamal smacked the crossbar following an astonishing piece of skill.

A cross was cleared out to Fermin on the edge of the penalty area and he needed just two touches, one to control and another to shoot, before sending a stinging half-volley past Luiz Junior in the visitor’s goal.

Villarreal found themselves under pressure for much of the first half, but levelled five minutes after the break when Santi Comesana ran on to Yeremy Pino’s perfect through-ball and dinked over the onrushing Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Knowing victory would put them eight points clear of sixth-placed Real Betis with a game to spare, the visitors rode their luck before substitute Tajon Buchanan finished a low cross at the far post for the clincher.

A total of 26 goals have now been scored in the last four meetings between Barcelona (14 goals) and Villarreal (12) in La Liga, more than any other fixture since the start of last season.

Bbc.com

Vinicius Jr has celebrated on social media after his team Alverca won promotion from the Portuguese second tier.

WHAT HAPPENED?
The Brazilian has a majority stake in the club, that secured its spot in the top flight with a 2-1 win over Portimonense on Friday. He celebrated with a post on his Instagram story.

WHAT VINICIUS JR SAID
Vinicius posted “vamooos!” on his Instagram story with an image of the squad designed to celebrate the promotion.

THE BIGGER PICTURE
Vinicius has held a majority stake in Alverca since February 2025 and now part owns a club that will be competing with the likes of Sporting, Benfica and Porto next season. The team are back in the top flight for the first time in 21 years.

Goal.com