Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe & Erling Haaland told why emulating ‘gods’ Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo is almost impossible

Messi and Ronaldo dominated the world stage for almost 20 years, setting records that many believed to be impossible. For Tonito, former champion with Sporting, the two stars inhabit an isolated level that will hardly be reached by the new generation, regardless of the individual talent of each.

"Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are on another scale, and to talk about other football players, you have to see if they maintain that level for so many years. Seeing is believing. That's the great difficulty for Yamal, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and others: they are good, but they need to show if they are capable of making history and reaching those levels," said the 49-year-old former midfielder in an interview with Lusa.

Yamal has broken records at Barcelona and with the Spanish national team, having already won Euro 2024 and the award for best young player of the competition. However, Tonito emphasizes that the real test is not initial brilliance, but rather the ability to maintain elite performance for as long as Messi and Ronaldo have achieved, something that defines the true immortals of the sport.

"We are in a new stage and there are players trying to master the new football, competing to see if they can achieve the feats of those two gods. We'll see how far they can go. It was lucky that Messi and Ronaldo appeared at the same time and did what I believe no one else will achieve, but I could be wrong," Tonito noted.

With a World Cup clash between Portugal and Spain scheduled for the round of 16, Tonito analyzed the evolution of "La Roja". Although Yamal remains the main threat, the former player observes that the absence of Nico Williams or his drop in form could change the offensive dynamics of Luis de la Fuente's team, making it less vertical and more focused on possession.

"Nico Williams isn't at his best, he's coming off a difficult period and may not play. Spain should have the same starting eleven as the last match, and Álex Baena doesn't provide the depth that Nico does. It will be an equally strong team, but with a different character, less vertical and more associative. Now, on Yamal's side, you can be sure that speed will be there," he characterized.

Despite Spain's defensive solidity, having not conceded a goal in five World Cup matches, Tonito believes that the Selecao possesses superior squad depth. For the former midfielder, Roberto Martínez's variety of options puts Portugal a step ahead in terms of pure talent in all sectors.

"Yamal is one of the world's top players, but Spain doesn't have that much individual variety, and Portugal has shown that in its teams and in all areas. If he manages to extract his best version, both individually and collectively, I'm sure Portugal will get through the tie. Spain knows it will be facing one of the strongest teams," Tonito concluded.

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