Sergio Aguero might have spent a very short stint at FC Barcelona as a player but he is still very fondly remembered as the Argentinian legend has never missed an opportunity to speak highly of what the club stands for.
Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Aguero has been quite vocal recently. As always, there’s something related to Barcelona that the 36-year-old has to say, and it consistently makes for an interesting read.
As quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Aguero was asked about what he thought about Barcelona’s start to the season, and among other things, the ex-Atletico Madrid player chose to talk about Lamine Yamal and even labeled him as a ‘surprising’ player. Here is what he had to say:
“We have Lamine Yamal, who is really surprising because, at such a young age, he does things that seem like he’s 26 or 28. For all of us who love football, we should enjoy it because very few players possess such characteristics.”
“Of course, he’s at Barça, which makes it even better. We’ll have to see how he continues in a few years because it all depends on each player’s mindset and how far they can go, but he’s proving to be a talent that very few have. It’s becoming increasingly rare.
Aguero was further quizzed about Lamine and asked if it was normal to exhibit a bit of playfulness at 17. The Manchester City legend responded:
Exactly, everyone has their own talent—going forward, getting past two or three players—but he has qualities that, given his age, others wouldn’t possess. He has a different game vision compared to a typical 17, 18, or 20-year-old.”
“When I was young, I had my talent, but then you have to keep working on it. But there are other things that are natural, like game awareness, that come instinctively, and he has that. He makes passes, spreads the play, plays as a team player, and defends.”
Finally, and most interestingly, Aguero was asked if he agreed with Marcos Senna’s assessment of putting the 17-year-old Barcelona wonderkid over Real Madrid superstar Vinicus Jr. Aguero’s response was interesting. He continued:
“In terms of playing style and talent, Lamine has many more attributes than Vinicius, although Vinicius has more experience and has won titles with Madrid. Vinicius is among the top three in the world, but for age and talent, I prefer Lamine.”
“If it were up to me, I would have one on each side of my team and let the opponents pray for mercy. It’s like when Messi and Neymar were together. Now Vinicius has Mbappé at Madrid, but he plays more as a ‘9’ and doesn’t have Vinicius’s talent.”
Since his breakthrough into the first team last season under Xavi Hernandez, Lamine Yamal has been growing with every passing game. At just 17, he is already one of the best right-wingers in the world at the moment.
Aguero is no stranger to seeing world-class talents, having broken through at the same time as Barcelona icon Lionel Messi and the duo have countless memories playing together for Argentina. Thus, when he spots a talent, one can trust his judgment.
If Lamine can put up a performance in the Clasico like he did vs Bayern Munich, his stocks would rise even higher. At this point, it feels like the 17-year-old cannot put a foot wrong. Barcelona must be thankful to La Masia for Lamine Yamal and let’s wait and see just how far his career progresses.