“At this age, he's ahead of Cristiano, he's ahead of Messi” - Rio Ferdinand hails Lamine Yamal in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo comparison 

Rio Ferdinand has claimed that Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal is already better than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at his age. The former Manchester United defender lavished praise on the Spanish wonderkid following his scintillating showing against Inter Milan on Wednesday, April 30.

Barcelona and Inter Milan produced a cracker of a game in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. Yamal stole the show with his jaw-dropping technique, dribbling and shooting but the game finished 3-3 at Camp Nou.

Rio Ferdinand hailed Yamal as an 'artist' after the game and insisted that he has never seen a player of his age play at such a high level. The pundit insisted that the Spain international is even better than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at his age. The former Manchester United defender said, as quoted by TNT Sports:

"It was one of the best 45 minutes I've seen - definitely from a young player - but almost from any player I've seen live. It's just ridiculous what he's done. His ability to take people on. I think the thing that really caught my eye about him, other than the moments of brilliance, is that every part of his left foot was used in that game. He's an artist."

The pundit added:

"At this age, he's ahead of Cristiano, he's ahead of Messi. His stats alone - he's had 100 appearances at 17! These guys were nowhere near that and he's dominating games, he's defining games."

Ferdinand has claimed that Lamine Yamal is already an integral player for both club and country and has helped them win trophies. He added:

"The trophies that he's won, and he's been integral to winning those trophies for both club and country. He's on the cusp of maybe doing a treble for Barcelona and being one of the best players. At 17, we have not seen this."

The pundit concluded:

"His confidence in games is there for all to see. What was great the other day was the press conference; he was so confident in the press conference that himself and Barcelona are in an era to dominate."

Lamine Yamal is just 17 years of age and has already made 100 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 22 times and producing 33 assists. He has been on fire this season having contributed 15 goals and 24 assists in 49 appearances across competitions.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, are considered among of the greatest players of all time. They dominated the game for almost two decades and won 13 Ballon d'Ors between them.

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Liverpool superstar names Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two toughest players to defend against

Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk has named Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the two toughest opponents he has come across in his career. The Dutchman has insisted that he found it challenging to play against the two GOATs (Greatest of All Time) but he enjoyed the challenge. Speaking to GQ, the Netherlands captain said (via TBR Football):

"Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both very, very, very good players. Very difficult to defend. It's always good to play against the best players in my opinion, you can always challenge yourself and you always have to be at your best, it's a beautiful thing."

Van Dijk played three times against Lionel Messi and won only once, losing the other two games. He came across Cristiano Ronaldo on five occasions and lost three times while winning twice.