​Lamine Yamal: ‘I never think, ‘I want to be better than Pelé, better than Lionel Messi.”In an interview with L’Équipe, Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (19) spoke about his ambitions and denied that he sought to eclipse the greats of the game, such as Pelé and Lionel Messi.At just 19 years of age, Yamal has already won the FIFA World Cup and the Euros with the Spain national team, whilst his breakthrough has also coincided with a period of domination for Barcelona in Spain. Whilst he has yet to win the Ballon d’Or, he has won the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best young player, twice, and he heads into this year’s edition as one of the favourites for the grand prize, which last season was won by Ousmane Dembélé.‘I want to be remembered as Lamine Yamal and I hope to be among the greatest.’Whilst his interview with L’Équipe provided an opportunity for Yamal to lay out his arguments to win the Ballon d’Or, as has become the fashion this year, it was also a chance for the Spaniard to lay out his grander ambitions for his career. “There have been big stars in football, like Leo (Messi), Cristiano (Ronaldo), Diego (Maradona)… but no one had won so much so early. There was the instance of Pelé, but not more recently,” he told Movistar +Yamal returned to those comments in his interview with L’Équipe. “I play to make history, so that, in 30 years, young people say: ‘He was really good, too.’ But it isn’t an obsession; I never think: ‘I want to be better than Pelé, better than Messi.’ I don’t want to compare myself with anyone. I want to be Lamine Yamal, I want to be remembered as Lamine Yamal and I hope to be among the greatest,” he said.GFFN | Luke Entwistle