Old ghosts, new dreams: Celta return to face a different Barcelona side

The stage is different this time: the Lluis Companys Stadium, with fans in the stands. But every Celta visit rekindles the memory of Messi's final goal and appearance for Barcelona.

It was at an empty Camp Nou on 16 May 2021. He opened the scoring that night, but a Santi Mina brace turned the game on its head, leaving Ronald Koeman's side defeated and red-faced. Just weeks later, Messi bid farewell to the only club he'd ever known—tears streaming down his face in a moment that broke hearts across the footballing world.

Two months earlier, in March, a little-known YouTuber named Reykob had posted a video to his channel. It drew the usual interest that surrounds any La Masia talent, but nothing close to what it would attract years later. He played as a goalkeeper against a Barcelona youth player, Lamine Yamal.

Aged just 13, Yamal displayed the same boldness and brilliance he now shows in the first team. Today, the video has nearly 17 million views—and the boy in the clip is a European champion.

It's always risky—and perhaps unfair—to compare budding talents with legends who shattered records over decades. But that effortless brilliance, that spark that Yamal shares with Messi, makes the parallel inevitable.

Not in age—Messi didn't fully break into the senior side until he was 18—but in impact. Lamine has already played 96 matches for Barcelona, with 21 goals to his name and a direct hand in 68 of those victories.

By comparison, Messi reached 96 appearances in February 2008, having debuted in October 2004—a span of 1,211 days. Yamal, on the other hand, debuted on 29 April 2023 and reached 96 games by 15 April 2025—just 717 days.

That pace, that ability to settle at the highest level so quickly, is perhaps the most striking feature of his rise. Of course, Messi's legend didn't truly begin until after those first 96 matches.

His genius—sustained at an extraterrestrial level over many seasons—is what ultimately set him apart. And that will be Lamine Yamal's greatest test: consistency.

Few players in football history have achieved what Yamal has at such a young age. Not even Messi progressed this quickly. But greatness is forged over time—and staying power, more than anything, is what earns a place in the game's history.