Gavi crowns Yamal the world's best player at the World Cup, Messi aside

Gavi has placed Lamine Yamal above every active footballer on the planet, telling Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia that the 18-year-old Barcelona winger is “the best” player at the 2026 World Cup — with one notable caveat. “Lionel Messi aside, I see him as the best,” the Spain midfielder said. “And I will always go to the death with him, in the good times and the bad.”

The endorsement carries particular weight given Yamal is still working his way back to full fitness after a hamstring injury disrupted his tournament preparations. He has been carefully managed by Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente, logging 19 minutes against Cape Verde, 45 minutes — including a goal — against Saudi Arabia, and 76 minutes against Uruguay. Yet Gavi insists even a diminished Yamal is a cut above the rest. “Perhaps he is not at 100 per cent yet. But Lamine at 70 per cent is already the best. When the matches go by, he will get better.”

For all the hype surrounding Yamal, the numbers back Gavi up. At 18, the winger has already won Euro 2024 with Spain, claimed three La Liga titles with Barcelona, and taken home the Golden Boy award. He finished runner-up for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, placed just behind Ousmane Dembélé.

Gavi also spoke about the psychological demands that come with Yamal’s extraordinary profile, admitting he struggles to comprehend how his team-mate absorbs the pressure. “Sometimes I tell him I don’t understand how he does it, because he never gets overwhelmed by people,” Gavi said. “If I were him, I’d find it incredibly difficult, and I’d get stressed out, but Lamine handles it all very well and seems completely unfazed. It’s a really great quality of his.”

Spain now turn their attention to a last-32 meeting with Austria, where De la Fuente faces a key decision over whether Yamal is ready to play a full 90 minutes for the first time in the tournament. With the reigning European champions targeting a first World Cup triumph since 2010, the fitness trajectory of their most dangerous attacker will be central to how far they can go.