Lamine Yamal has burst onto the scene for Barcelona and former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna believes the teenager could emulate Lionel Messi's Blaugrana exploits.
Yamal has enjoyed a meteoric rise into professional football this season, becoming Barcelona's youngest starter in La Liga and the youngest player to assist in the competition in the 21st century.
The Blaugrana talent also marked his name as the youngest debutant and scorer for Spain in the 7-1 victory over Georgia this month, aged just 16 years and 57 days.
Only two players have scored for a European nation at a younger age (Sam Johnston in 1882 for Northern Ireland and Jozsef Horvath in 1906 for Hungary), and Senna believes Yamal will go to the top.
Senna, a former Villarreal midfielder and 28-cap Spain international, told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit: "He has had a big impact.
"He is really young with big talent. Obviously, he has to be very well looked after, like cutting a diamond.
"It's important not to rush, so that in the future he can be one of the best, like Messi himself, who left Barcelona.
"He has already shown that he has a great future."
Senna had a fine career in Spain as a La Liga regular as well as being a part of La Roja's European Championship-winning side in 2008.
The 47-year-old played with a golden generation of Spanish footballers, and picked out three midfielders as the best he has lined up alongside.
"I think it would be really unfair to choose just one," he responded when asked about his former team-mates.
"There are many players I played with. I can name a few. For example, at Villarreal, Riquelme, was one of the great players I had the opportunity to play with.
"Santi Cazorla and others in the Spanish national team. Andres Iniesta was very important and created a legacy.
"They are historic players and special players. In my list, I can fit many more but I gave you the names of a few players from Villarreal and the national team."
Yet Messi – who Yamal has drawn comparisons to – remains Senna's greatest challenge.
Senna said: "A big part of my career was in Spain, at Villarreal. I was there for 11 years. During this period I met Barcelona's Pep Guardiola, and I didn't even have the chance to get a draw against them!
"It was a very complicated period when Messi came along. And let's say that was the biggest difficulty we had.
"Messi was a revolution of the century. For me, it was the biggest challenge as a player."
Ancelotti salutes Madrid's 'commitment and desire' following Sociedad victory
Carlo Ancelotti hailed Real Madrid's commitment and desire as they edged closer to securing the LaLiga title with a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.
Arda Guler scored the only goal as Los Blancos extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who host Valencia in their game in hand on Monday.
The 19-year-old was making his first start since arriving from Fenerbahce, as Ancelotti rotated his squad ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich.
And the Italian was pleased by the character demonstrated by his players, who stretched their winning streak to six league matches.
"It was clear that everyone thought we were coming here for a walk," he told reporters. "The only ones who didn't think so were the players. They had commitment and attitude. They had the desire and enthusiasm to keep winning.
"We have a spectacular squad. They have this attitude that they feel like they have to win every game. There are four points left to clinch the LaLiga title, and we are very close."
Guler added on Realmadrid TV: "This is the best club in the world and scoring is one of the best feelings.
"This is Real Madrid, the quality of the players is incredible. We're all always ready to play, and I think we've shown that here. I'm waiting patiently, and I'm still working hard every day."
Ancelotti's rotation meant a first start in eight months for Eder Militao, who marked his return from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee with a clean sheet.
"I've come back to play 90 minutes and I feel like a player again after many months out," the defender said.
"We have to keep winning, we know that nothing is won yet. We have a big advantage, but we have to keep doing a serious job until the end."
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
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