MUNICH — It was in Munich, just under a year ago, that teenage sensation Lamine Yamal announced himself on the world stage, so it is apt that 19-year-old Désiré Doué propelled himself to global stardom at the same venue on Saturday night by inspiring Paris Saint-Germain to their first ever Champions League title.
In years to come, the Allianz Arena might be acknowledged as the launchpad for the two players (both named to the FC 100) who are set to dominate football at the highest level. Champions Leagues, World Cups, Ballons d’Or … get ready for Doué and Yamal to become this generation’s Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Yamal’s moment in Munich came on July 9, 2024, when the then-16-year-old scored the opening goal in Spain’s 2-1 win against France in the Euro 2024 semifinal — a goal which made him the youngest-ever goal scorer at a major tournament, erasing legendary Brazil striker Pele from the record books.
Doué made his mark for PSG in their sensational 5-0 Champions League final win against Inter Milan on Saturday with two goals, becoming the youngest player (and first teenager) to score twice in the final, eclipsing a record that had stood since Eusebio’s double for Benfica in their 5-3 win against Real Madrid in 1962. His heroics helped him beat Yamal to the UEFA Champions League Young Player of the Year prize, awarded in the wake of Saturday’s emphatic win.
As a footnote, Doué also beat Jude Bellingham’s record of becoming the youngest player to register an assist in a Champions League final when creating Achraf Hakimi’s opening goal.
“I don’t have words to describe this evening,” Doué told reporters after game. “It is magical. We are rewriting the history of our club, and of French football, and it is amazing to be part of. I tried to make it business as usual. It was one of the most important games of the club, but we pulled it off as a team and it’s absolutely wonderful.”
Not so long ago, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland were tipped to replace Messi and Ronaldo on football’s pedestal, but Real Madrid forward Mbappe, 26, and Manchester City’s Haaland, 24, suddenly look like old men compared to Yamal and Doué. The two teenage sensations have already broken records and written their own pages in the history books.
Indeed, Yamal and Doué could face each other for the first time on Thursday when Spain play France in the UEFA Nations League semifinal in Stuttgart, and it is likely to be the start of a rivalry — for club, country and individual honors — that lasts for a decade or more.
They are both incredibly talented forwards, blessed with pace, trickery and the confidence to attempt the extraordinary, and they also play for two of the world’s biggest and most powerful clubs — Barcelona (Yamal) and PSG (Doué) — at the same as representing their heavyweight nations, who both regularly compete for World Cups and European titles.
Yamal is ahead of Doué in terms of fame and visibility on the world stage. He has already achieved international success, helping Spain to win Euro 2024 last year, and his 18 goals and 21 assists in all competitions for Barca this season played a significant part in the club’s LaLiga success.
Although PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé is the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or, with his 33 goals and 13 assists providing the bedrock of the club’s treble success, Yamal is a strong contender and could yet become the first teenager to win the award. And with Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario still the youngest Ballon d’Or winner in 1997 (21 years and 95 days), Yamal — and Doué — could yet write him out of the record books.
Doué’s rise to stardom has happened over the past 12 months, since completing a €50 million move from Rennes last summer, rejecting interest from Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Manchester United in order to move to Parc des Princes.
But even at Rennes, Doué was making history. When he scored against Brest in August 2022 at the age of 17, he became the first player born in 2005 to score in any of Europe’s big five leagues. Six weeks later, his goal against Dynamo Kyiv in the Europa League made him the youngest-ever French scorer in European competition (17 years, four months and four days.)
At PSG, Doué has become part of Luis Enrique’s formidable forward line alongside Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, scoring 15 goals and registering 16 assists across 54 games in all competitions, but there is still a humility to him despite his incredible year.
“We have a lot of young players, we have players who still need to develop, and I am one of those,” he said in Munich. “And I will always strive to get better. It is just normal for me; a normal learning curve. After a big transfer, I needed time to find my feet and settle in, but I am brushing shoulders with the best players and that helps me achieve big things in football.”
Doué’s contribution to PSG’s glittering season earned him his first senior France appearance when he played in the Nations League playoff against Croatia in March. He has some catching up to do on Yamal, who has already earned 19 caps for Spain, but on Thursday in Stuttgart, we could see the first chapter in the Doué-Yamal rivalry.
Nobody is ever likely to come close to matching the Messi-Ronaldo story — 13 Ballons d’Or between them doesn’t even begin to tell it — but the two players who are capturing the imagination of the next generation right now are Doué and Yamal. And they are living up to the hype.
