Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi vs Lamine Yamal: How do their records before turning 18 compare with each other?

Portuguese marksman Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentine maestro Lionel Messi are considered two of the best players in football history. The pair headlined one of the greatest individual rivalries in all of sport for over a decade.

Ronaldo and Messi have won 13 Ballon d'Or titles between them (five for the former and eight for the latter), securing every individual and team honour along the way. While playing in Europe (for Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Juventus; and for Barcelona and PSG), they racked up over 800 goals and 200 assists each.

Although they are now 40 and 38 years old, respectively, the Portuguese and Argentine superstars continue to dominate their respective leagues. The former plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, while the latter plies his trade for Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami.

A host of young players have been regarded as the successors to the thrones of the iconic pair, none more so than Barcelona's Spanish boy wonder, Lamine Yamal. The youngster has taken the footballing world by storm, delivering scintillating performances for club and country.

Yamal, who turns 18 on Sunday (July 13), has comfortably surpassed the records of Messi and Ronaldo before they turned 18 years old. The young winger has racked up 25 goals and 34 assists in 106 appearances for Barca, along with six goals and nine assists in 21 games for Spain.

In contrast, when the diminutive Argentine turned 18 in June 2005, he had bagged just one goal in nine appearances for the Blaugrana and was yet to make his international debut. On the other hand, the Portuguese superstar had just burst onto the scene when he turned 18 in February 2003, with five goals in 19 games for Sporting (via SportBible).

At his current goalscoring rate, Yamal will likely play at the highest level for another decade and a half. It will be interesting to see how his numbers compare to those of Messi and Ronaldo at the end of his career.

"It's just ridiculous" - When Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand claimed Lamine Yamal was better than Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi at 17

Ex-Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand claimed that superstar forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were 'nowhere near' Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal's level at the age of 17.

Ferdinand, who made 221 appearances alongside the Portuguese sharpshooter at United, lavished praise on Yamal's performances. He was in attendance as the Spanish winger scored in Barca's thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the first leg of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Speaking on TNT Sports after the game, the 46-year-old said (via GOAL):

"It's just ridiculous what he's done. His ability to take people on... He's an artist. At this age, he's ahead of Cristiano, he's ahead of Messi. His stats alone - he's had 100 appearances at 17! These guys were nowhere near that and he's dominating games, he's defining games."

Up next, Yamal will likely be seen in action in Barcelona's first game of the 2025-26 campaign—a preseason friendly against Japanese side Vissel Kobe on July 27.

Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer