Lamine Yamal becomes youngest to reach 100 La Liga matches at 18: How long did it take Messi?
Lamine Yamal’s meteoric rise to global soccer stardom continues to gather momentum. This time, the Barcelona winger set another record by becoming the youngest player to reach 100 La Liga appearances, posting numbers that surpass those of Lionel Messi by a wide margin.
Yamal was in the starting lineup on Saturday as Barcelona earned a 4-1 win over Espanyol in the Catalonia derby. He scored once and provided two assists for Ferran Torres, while also marking his 100th La Liga appearance at just 18 years and 272 days old.
With that, the Spain star moved to the top of the all-time list for this milestone, surpassing Real Madrid legend Raul Gonzalez, who had held the record since 1997, when he reached 100 league appearances at 19 years and 284 days.
Iker Muniain ranks third on the list, having reached that mark at 19 years and 293 days with Athletic Club. The Basque side also produced another name on the list, shared with Real Sociedad, Joseba Etxeberria, who achieved the milestone at 20 years and 177 days. Interestingly, another current Barcelona player also appears in the top 10: Gavi sits sixth on the list, having reached 100 La Liga matches at 20 years and 243 days.
How long did it take Messi to reach 100 La Liga matches?
Although Lionel Messi had an early start to his professional career, breaking into Barcelona’s first team at 17 in 2004, he faced more challenges than Lamine Yamal when it came to establishing himself at the top level. The internal competition within that squad and his physical profile at the time are important factors when comparing the two players.
Messi reached his first 100 La Liga appearances during the 2008-09 season. By then, he had already spent five seasons playing professionally with Barcelona. The milestone came in a 4-3 loss to Atletico Madrid on March 1, 2009. At that point, the Argentine forward was 21 years and 250 days old.
Goal comparison between Yamal and Messi
The difference in how quickly Messi and Yamal reached 100 La Liga matches is clear. However, when it comes to their goal contributions over that span, the gap becomes much narrower.
At the time of his 100th La Liga appearance with Barcelona, Lionel Messi had recorded 48 goals and 29 assists, totaling 77 goal contributions. In the same number of matches, Lamine Yamal has posted 29 goals and 34 assists, for a total of 63 goal contributions.