Lamine Yamal is the Top Assister in European top 5 Leagues

After the recent Copa del Rey clash against Real Madrid, Lamine Yamal has become Europe’s top assister. He has 24 assists for the season and leads the whole continent. The Catalan wonderkid, at such a young age, is playing like a veteran and outshining veteran midfield maestros and playmakers. Let’s break this down.

Is Yamal Outshining Even the Balon d’or Contender Himself?

Raphinha has been arguably the best player in the world this season and is the top contender to win France Football’s Balon d’Or award. His 23 assists for the season are extraordinary, but Yamal has outshined him in this department. After the clutch performance in the Copa Del Rey finale, Yamal now has 24 assists for the season and has become Barca’s and Europe’s most creative player of the season.

Yamal was by no means at his best in the CDR finale. However, the 17-year-old still put on a match-winning performance by only being at half of his best. Yes, you read it right. The kid delivered the magic when needed and created 2 of the three goals scored by Barca to lift the King’s trophy.

The Assist King of Europe at Just 17

Time after time, the youngster has proven critics wrong this season. Some said he will flop like Ansu Fati, others said his inexperience will get the better of him. But I’d like to ask these people, what is your POV now? Did you all witness how Courtois, Rudiger and Tchaoumeni endured Yamal this whole season? Not to mention a ton of other La liga and European defenders apart from Los Blancos.

At just 17, Yamal has more assists than Salah (23), Saka (14) and Vinicius (14); that too in fewer game time. He has 0.58 assists per 90 minutes and has smashed all critics with a bang. Yamal has proved that at 17, he is not the future, he is the present.

The Reliance on a Young Teenager

While Yamal’s numbers are a stat to be proud of, it’s also a soft warning for Barca. The team is heavily dependant on a teenager and it causes a little bit of imbalance when he does not start. The kid should not shoulder this much burden at such a young age.

We all saw how things went completely astray when Leo left Barca, a player who was Barca’s entire attack and midfield. Individual brilliance is always exciting but football is a team game. The weight of burden on a single player, that too in his teenage, is appreciable but not something to flaunt of.