Lamine Yamal Responds to Jeers by Obliterating Vinicius Jr’s La Liga Record

During Real Madrid’s 2–1 win over Barcelona last season, Vinícius Júnior turned to Lamine Yamal and laughed: “You’re all backwards passes.”

In the space of less than a year, Yamal’s progressive passing has become so prolific he broke the assist record set by Vinícius himself.

Raphinha stole the headlines with a second hat-trick in four days for Barcelona during Saturday night’s 3–1 comeback win at Sevilla, but the Brazilian’s teenage teammate ensured the game was painted a distinct shade of Lamine Yamal once more.

Yamal Harnesses Negative Energy Against Sevilla

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Barcelona’s prodigious winger was the subject of fierce boos and whistles throughout the weekend trip to Seville. After inciting one particularly sustained buzz of backlash with a wayward shot in the first half, Yamal gestured for the crowd to raise its volume. The score was tied at 1–1 by that point, the first of Raphinha’s treble canceling out Youssouf Fofana’s opener, and it would be Yamal who forced Barcelona into the lead after the interval.

Marking the 19-year-old is like trying to pin a wave to the sand. There was a crowd of Sevilla players around Yamal when he plucked the ball out of the Andalusian night sky in the 52nd minute and they may very well have been congratulating each other after forcing the sole object of their focus away from goal. Yet Yamal managed to contort the twists of a body which is still growing in such a way to stab a cross into the box for Raphinha to expertly head into the bottom corner.

That beguiling piece of skill represented the 50th goal Yamal has set up in his burgeoning Barcelona career. No teenager has racked up half a century of assists for a La Liga club in Opta’s records. Vinícius Jr was previously the youngest player to reach that landmark in the Spanish top flight, although he was 22 at the time.

Youngest Players With 50 Assists for a La Liga Club

Lamine Yamal—19 years and 68 days (159 appearances)
Vinícius Júnior—22 years and 298 days (220 appearances)

Yamal wasn’t sated with just one assist. The durable forward deftly slipped Raphinha behind Sevilla’s wobbling backline in the 69th minute, presenting the most in-form forward on the planet with a chance he is in no mood to squander.

How Yamal Compares to Lionel Messi At 50 Barcelona Assists

Lamine Yamal.

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Statistic at 50 Barcelona Assists	Lamine Yamal	Lionel Messi
Date	Sept. 19, 2026	Oct. 30, 2010
Age	19 years and 68 days	23 years and 108 days
Appearances	159	226
Minutes	11,890	16,650
Goals	57	141

Yamal may actively discourage comparisons to Lionel Messi, but if he continues to outstrip all his contemporaries so convincingly, there’s little left as a suitable guide.

Messi bloomed much later than Yamal, only amassing his 50th assist for the club at the age of 23 on his 226th appearance. However, during that time, the diminutive Argentine had scored a staggering 141 goals, almost triple Yamal’s current tally.

Barcelona’s greatest ever player emerged as a relentless dribbler under Frank Rijkaard, scheming his way into the final third without the kind of end product which would later define his career. Pep Guardiola took over at Camp Nou in 2008 and recognized the ruthless finisher he had at his disposal. “With me,” the incoming coach told Messi in their first meeting together, “you’ll score three or four goals a game.” He wasn’t far off.

Yamal is yet to discover that same remorseless edge in front of goal, although he’s hardly struggling to decide games.

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