Yamal achieves what Messi and Ronaldo had to wait for

Since his breakthrough wearing the FC Barcelona jersey, Lamine Yamal keeps astounding the football world by hitting 50 goals at an age younger than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

After being eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Atlético Madrid, Barcelona needs to quickly regain their spirit to continue the La Liga title race. The Catalan squad marched to San Mamés Stadium to face Athletic Bilbao, and Yamal created the decisive moment. In the 68th minute, following a precise pass from Pedri, Yamal executed a neat curling shot to score the sole goal, securing a 1-0 victory for Barcelona.

The goal against Athletic Bilbao helped Yamal reach 50 career goals at just 18 years and 237 days old. This includes: 44 goals for Barcelona across all competitions and 6 goals for the Spanish national team.

For comparison: Messi scored his 50th career goal in 2008, at 20 years and 315 days old, while Ronaldo reached this milestone in 2007, at 21 years and 297 days old. Thus, Yamal has reached this milestone more than two years earlier than Messi and almost three years earlier than Ronaldo.

At club level, Yamal has scored 44 goals in 142 appearances for Barcelona since his senior debut at age 15. His goals are spread across various competitions: 28 goals in La Liga, 8 goals in the UEFA Champions League, 5 goals in the Copa del Rey, and 3 goals in the Supercopa de España.

In the Spanish national team jersey, his 6 goals were scored in: 3 goals in the UEFA Nations League, 2 goals in UEFA European Championship qualifying, and 1 goal at the EURO.

Despite being eliminated from the Copa del Rey, Barcelona remains one of Europe's most formidable teams and continues to compete for the Champions League title. In his second season under coach Hansi Flick, Yamal is one of the key figures helping Barcelona lead La Liga with 67 points, 4 points ahead of arch-rival Real Madrid.

The goal against Athletic Bilbao is also his 19th this season, accompanied by 15 assists in 36 matches, marking Yamal's most productive season yet. Previously, his best record was 18 goals in 55 matches last season.

In the early stages of his career, Yamal was often viewed as a player more inclined towards assisting than scoring. However, 10 goals in his last 11 matches have completely shifted that perception. While it's too early to compare with the colossal numbers of Ronaldo (965 goals) and Messi (899 goals), given his current development pace, the question of whether Yamal can reach similar milestones is beginning to be raised.