Inter Milan striker Marcus Thuram has refused to rate Lamine Yamal as the best player in the world right now, positing that Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe are ahead of the young winger.
Thuram came face to face with Yamal in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League between Barcelona and Inter Milan which ended 3-3.
At just 17 years Yamal featured in his 100th game for Barcelona and also scored in the six-goal thriller.
He went close to getting on the score sheet on two occasions but saw his efforts hit the bar.
His displays this season have seen him being described as the best player in the world.
However, when asked if Yamal is currently the best player in the world following his impressive performance in Wednesday’s semi-final encounter Thuram disagreed.
“No, the best player in the world is French. And the second best too. After that, there’s Lamine Yamal,” Thuram was quoted by Tribuna.
“It’s Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappe.”
In this season’s UEFA Champions League Yamal has scored five goals and has provided three assists in 12 matches.
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Also this season, he has already helped Barcelona secure the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey titles following victories against rivals Real Madrid.
He and his teammates are in the running to add the La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles.
Since making his senior Barcelona debut in 2023, Yamal has won one La Liga title (2022–2023), one Copa del Rey (2024–2025) and one Spanish Super Cup (2025).
He was named La Liga U-23 Player of the Season in the 2023–2024 season and was part of the Spanish senior men’s national team that won the 2024 European Championship.
At six years of age, Yamal was scouted by Barcelona and was invited to training sessions at La Masia, signing for the club in 2014 and moving to Barcelona to live and train at the academy.
Yamal made his first-team debut on 29 April 2023, replacing Gavi in the 83rd minute of a 4–0 victory against Real Betis in La Liga, in which he registered a shot on target.
He became not only the fifth youngest player in La Liga’s history at 15 years, nine months, and 16 days old, but also the youngest to appear for Barcelona’s first team since the 15-year-old Armando Sagi in 1922, over a century before.
