India, April 21 -- Lamine Yamal has made no secret of his admiration for Lionel Messi before, but the Barcelona teenager's latest remarks in Madrid showed just how highly he rates the Argentine. Fresh from winning the Laureus Award for Best Young Athlete, Yamal was asked about the comparisons that continue to follow him at just 18, and he responded by placing Messi at the very top of sport itself.

For Yamal, this was not just about football greatness. He described Messi as the best player in history and suggested his standing stretches far beyond the game, underlining the scale of the Argentine's influence on players of his generation. The comments from the Laureus event in Madrid quickly drew attention across the football world for both...