Gary Lineker is confident he has identified the next Lionel Messi – but Alan Shearer has concerns

Gary Lineker has compared Lamine Yamal to Lionel Messi after the 16-year-old made history at Euro 2024. Yamal, with his sensational equaliser against France, became the youngest player to ever score in the European Championship.

His left-footed long-range shot cancelled out an early header from Randal Kolo Muani and was quickly followed by a beautifully executed strike from Dani Olmo, which proved to be the winner. The Barcelona sensation, who is still at school and turns 17 this weekend, is already being considered alongside some of the game's greats, including Messi and Pele.

Messi shone at the 2006 World Cup as an 18-year-old, while Pele scored twice in the 1958 World Cup final when he was just 17. Lineker believes we may be witnessing the rise of another great player in the game.

Discussing Yamal on his podcast The Rest is Football, the Match of the Day host said: “We don't want to get carried away, but bloody hell, nobody's ever done that. Even Messi did it later.

“I'm not saying he's going to be a Messi or a Maradona, but he could be. Doing what he's doing at that age, and he's so calm. His decision-making and the goal, nobody's ever done that.

“Pelé scored two goals in the World Cup final, he was 17, almost 18. This kid is 16, almost 17. You can't overdo it, you have to be careful with this kind of thing.”

Yamal's emergence has prompted comparisons with a young Wayne Rooney, who came into his own with Everton at the age of 16 and made his England debut at 17. Lineker added: “He's [Yamal] the best 16 year old I have ever seen. Rooney has come into things [at 16] and scored a similar goal [against Arsenal in 2002].

“It was in the semi-final of the European Championship! I can't understand his football intelligence and the fact that he's still at school. It's mind-blowing but also beautiful.”

Alan Shearer admitted it was “impossible not to get carried away” with Yamal's workload and hoped he would not face the same injury problems as another Barca prodigy, Pedri. “That's the dilemma you face. You've got someone with incredible talent and different managers will come in and manage him,” he said.

“They will see his abilities and realise that with him they are a better team, that he can win games. That is the problem. The coach of Barcelona next year will not be the coach of Barcelona in five years, and that is a really selfish game. The coach will think: 'He can win me games' and may not be interested in what happens in five years.”