Barcelona have a player even ‘better’ than teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, according to former Real Madrid star Steve McManaman.
Barca took a huge step towards the Champions League semi-finals with an emphatic 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
Goals from Raphinha, Yamal and a Robert Lewandowski brace saw Barcelona dismantle the Bundesliga side at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night.
It was another hugely impressive performance from 17-year-old Yamal, who has quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world over the past 12 months.
Having helped Barca win La Liga last season, Yamal starred in Spain’s Euro 2024 win over the summer before picking up from where he left off back at the Nou Camp.
McManaman was full of praise for Yamal during Barcelona’s dominant victory over Dortmund but revealed he believes one of his team-mates is even better.
‘We speak about Barcelona’s front three [Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha] but Pedri is the best player they’ve got,’ McManaman said on TNT Sports’ commentary.
‘He’s a lovely player. He was the child superstar and then he got that really bad injury that set him back a bit.
‘But he’s back now and he’s been excellent this year for Barcelona. I’m a huge fan of his.’
Like Yamal, Pedri is also rated as one of the best players in the world, having made almost 200 appearances for Barca before his 23rd birthday.
Pedri was also part of the Spain side that became European champions last summer, beating England in the final.
Barcelona could be set for a stunning season as they look to wrap up yet another league title – they are currently four points above Real Madrid – and lift the Champions League trophy.
Barring a miraculous turnaround in Dortmund next week, Barcelona will face Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals.
Barca boss Hansi Flick said: ‘We’re not through yet. Winning by this many goals is important and, when a team plays as well as that, goals normally do flow.
‘We aren’t thinking we are through because you simply never know what might happen. Football is madness. We’ll be determined to play like this again next week.
‘Dortmund are a good team and so we are already aware that we need to travel over there and commit as few errors as possible.
‘Our three guys up front are terrific and very important but so is our defence… and our guys who come off the bench and somehow manage to hit the same performance level as the players they replace.’
Reacting to a humbling defeat at the Nou Camp, Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac said: ‘Defeats always hurt, especially big ones.
‘But I saw some good things out there and now it’s my job to communicate them to my players.
‘We face Bayern [away in the Bundesliga on Saturday] and they’re at a similar level to Barcelona.
‘All in all, over our next two games we need to position ourselves much better defensively. We need to defend together.
‘If we don’t do that with intensity against a team like this, who have more than one world-class player, then it’s too difficult.’
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