Messi1688 Lamine Yamal has a more Neymar da Silva Junior style of play than Lionel Messi, according to teammate Rafinha. Messi1688 

Barcelona forward Rafinha has taken a different view to many, claiming that 17-year-old Lamine Yamal is more like Neymar da Silva Junior than Lionel Messi, telling ‘El País’ on Sunday.

‘I see him more like Neymar, with his dribbling, his speed of thinking, with his dribbling, when you think you can steal the ball from him, he does something you’ve never seen in your life,’ Rafinha said of Yamal.

Rafinha has transformed his role from a substitute under Xavi Hernandez to becoming a regular under Hansi Flick this season, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists in 15 appearances in all competitions, but the 27-year-old does not see himself as the star of the Azulgrana side.

‘I don’t feel like I’m the main character. I know I’ve had a good season, but the whole team is the main character. If we score 10 goals and concede 10 goals, the game will end in a draw. When everyone is in good form, the strikers tend to do better. They’re the ones who score goals. In my opinion, they’re all the main characters.’

Rafinha has admitted that during difficult times he considered leaving Barcelona on several occasions. ‘Many times, yes, especially in the first six months before the World Cup, but I also felt that way during the rest of the time. They always say that if it doesn’t work out, I have to sell myself. ‘

The Brazilian forward also spoke about the pressures of being a footballer in the social media era, where he is often targeted by keyboard warriors. 

‘I didn’t play football when social media didn’t exist, so I can’t make the comparison, but in the current context people think that because you upload a picture on Instagram they have the right to say everything and you have to keep quiet. We did our job, we were lucky, we are professional footballers, but we worked very hard for this.’

‘It’s not easy when someone is blaming you for something. For the lawyer who didn’t win the case, would I go to his Instagram profile and tell him how terrible he is?’ ( Messi1688  )

Rafinha ended by talking about his childhood experiences, including a story he played out of a time when he was still in his native Brazil, where he had to ask people for money to buy food.

‘I was with a friend, we were dirty after a workout, there were no showers in the club and the bus was very late. We were hungry but had no money, so we started begging on the street for something to eat. It was quite complicated. People don’t want you to disturb them. Kind people help us, but I understand people who don’t give us anything. It’s hard to stop. We look like children living in the street. It’s normal for them to feel a little scared. ‘