JILIPARK Report – October 14. Juventus and Italian football icon Alessandro Del Piero recently sat down with Italian media outlet La Gazzetta di Torino for a quick Q&A session. The segment wasn’t entirely about football — in fact, some of the questions were pure fun. For instance, asked to choose between Steve Nash and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Del Piero picked Nash. Between Shakira and Taylor Swift? He went with Shakira.
But when the questions turned back to football, one stood out above the rest:
“Who would you choose — 2006 Lionel Messi or 2025 Lamine Yamal?”
Without hesitation, Del Piero chose Messi.
It’s worth noting that the “2006 Messi” mentioned in the question refers to a very young version of the Argentine superstar — before his prime years, before the Ballon d’Ors, and long before his World Cup triumph. Yet even back then, Del Piero said, Messi’s natural brilliance and raw talent were already undeniable — enough to outshine even the sensational rise of Barcelona’s teenage prodigy, Lamine Yamal.
Interestingly, Messi’s name also came up in another recent discussion involving former Brazil international Gilberto Silva. In an interview about young Brazilian sensation Estevão, Silva recalled how the teenager is already being nicknamed “Little Messi.”
Of course, Brazil has had many “Little Messis” before — most famously Neymar, and now Estevão is the latest to earn the tag. But Silva urged caution, saying it’s unfair to compare anyone to Messi just yet.
“Estevão is a brilliant young player,” Silva said. “But he should be allowed to be himself. The Messi comparisons are just a compliment — a way of saying he’s special. Messi has become more than a name; he’s an adjective now — like GOAT, great, or extraordinary.”
In other words, being called the “next Messi” isn’t about reaching his level — it’s about recognizing rare talent. And when it comes to raw, once-in-a-generation genius, even legends like Del Piero know: there’s still only one Messi.
