The former Liverpool and England captain has been hugely impressed by Yamal's development, with the 19-year-old already establishing himself as one of the leading players in world football.

Yamal has won two La Liga titles with Barcelona, as well as the European Championship and World Cup with Spain. His record of 62 goals in 167 club appearances underlines his impact at such a young age.

Gerrard believes Yamal has the talent to reach the level of Messi and Ronaldo, although he warned that maintaining his hunger and consistency will be crucial.

"He's the one player I would say who potentially has that level, if he continues to evolve," Gerrard said.

He also placed Yamal ahead of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in terms of his potential, despite the two forwards already being established among the world's best players.

"Mbappe and Haaland are around there, in terms of being in their prime years right now, but it seems to me that Lamine is one who's just a bit above that," Gerrard added.

The biggest challenge, according to Gerrard, will be ensuring Yamal continues to develop and remains motivated despite his remarkable early success.

"The biggest challenge for him - and those around him at Barcelona - is how do they keep him hungry?" he said.

Gerrard also compared Yamal's progress with that of Messi and Ronaldo, both of whom went on to dominate world football for more than a decade.

"In terms of talent and potential, he's doing things on a football pitch that I've never seen a 19-year-old do," he said.

"He's more advanced than Ronaldo was at 19. I played against Messi as a youngster, and he's probably more advanced than he was too."

However, Gerrard believes Yamal must still prove he can match the extraordinary consistency and goalscoring records of the two former Ballon d'Or rivals.

"But is he going to have the consistency which they both had? Can he get the goals they did - and will he evolve into a No.9?" he added.

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