Yamal predicts inevitable move to central role to escape triple-marking, mirroring Messi's evolution

Lamine Yamal has predicted that his future at Barcelona lies in the centre of the pitch rather than on the right flank, drawing a deliberate parallel with the way Lionel Messi evolved from a winger into one of football’s most devastating central playmakers.

The 18-year-old made the admission in an interview with El Mundo, explaining that the relentless defensive attention he already attracts is making a positional shift not just logical but inevitable. “I think Leo was also marked by three players,” Yamal said. “And the only place where three players can’t mark you is in the middle. There are too many players there. As time goes on, I’ll end up there, because it’s very easy to defend with three on the wings, but they can’t mark me in the middle.”

Yamal’s rise has been one of the defining stories of European football over the past 18 months. A key figure in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, he has become a fixture on Barcelona’s right flank, where his pace, close control and willingness to take on defenders have made him one of the most difficult players in La Liga to contain. Yet his own assessment of where he is most dangerous points firmly inward.

“I can take on defenders one-on-one in the middle. I’m a more decisive player if I turn in the middle than if I turn out wide,” he said. “Obviously, right now I think it’s better for the team if I’m out wide. But there will come a time when I’ll be more decisive in the middle. And I’ll end up there.”

The teenager also offered a candid account of how he processes the defensive traps opponents now set for him. Yamal said he is rarely afforded a one-on-one situation, and has adapted by reading the game more collectively. “At least three [markers]. If I’m lucky, two. But one-on-one, never, ever, ever,” he said. “So I start thinking about plays: I talk to the full-back and tell him, ‘If I give you the ball, do this.’ The manager tells me, ‘If you have three, there are three teammates free.’ So it’s about playing at the back, obviously, but the dribbling is all about improvising. You don’t plan it. It’s impossible.”

The comments come as Spain prepare for a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia, whose head coach Georgios Donis has acknowledged Yamal’s growing status within the Barcelona squad. At 18, Yamal is already shaping conversations that most players only enter in their mid-twenties — about legacy, positional identity, and how long a player can sustain elite output from the wing before the game demands something more.