‘If Inter could stop Messi’… Fabio Capello downplays Barcelona star Lamine Yamal ahead of crucial UCL clash | OneFootball

The players of FC Barcelona are all too familiar with the kind of noise that arrives from outside and how to ignore it. After all, the people that create that noise often have nothing to do on the pitch itself. However, words can certainly sting, and Barcelona are no strangers to being doubted.

Now among the last four remaining teams in the UEFA Champions League, La Blaugrana have managed to prove many doubters wrong throughout this season. From the offside trap to their consistent, many believed that the Catalan side would be exposed at some point.

So far, they have not been proven right. However, ahead of a crucial game against Inter Milan in the Champions League now, former Italian coach Fabio Capello had some specific words for Barcelona ahead of the game.

As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he also specifically spoke about 17-year-old Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal ahead of the game, suggesting that if Inter Milan could stop Lionel Messi in 2010 it should not be an issue to stop Yamal in this encounter:

“Lamine Yamal is not Messi. If Inter could stop Messi in 2010, they can do it again against this Barça led by Lamine Yamal.”

He was referring to the encounter between Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side. An encounter filled with controversy, it was still one that saw the Italian side knock out the Catalan giants, despite being led by a young Lionel Messi at the peak of his abilities.

Moreover, he also downplayed all the attention and praise that Yamal has received so far comparing him to Messi, but did make sure to claim that he did not share the ‘genius’ that the former Barcelona icon had:

“I’ve read some exaggerated comparisons about Lamine. He’s a young player doing great things. When he broke through at Barcelona, people were calling him the new Messi, but he doesn’t reach that level. He’s an extraordinary, spectacular, elite player—but he doesn’t have the genius Messi had.”

respond on the pitch.