The Barcelona winger has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame over the past 12 months, and looks set to become a generational player in Catalunya
Lamine Yamal is La Masia through and through. At least, that's what we are told. It comes from adidas, who crafted a whole campaign around the winger's Barcelona roots – complete with a shot in his reimagined childhood bedroom adorned with Blaugrana posters. It comes from countless pundits and journalists, who so often compare Yamal to Barca legends of old. It comes from the player himself, who throws up a Catalan area code every time he celebrates one of the goals in his increasingly-impressive catalogue.
There hasn't been a singular moment that has defined the winger's young career so far, but there is no doubt about his rapid rise. With every game, there are multiple new pieces of skill, or fresh angled passes into team-mates that take the breath away. The individual achievements and records have come too quickly to count, and too regularly to properly acknowledge. Instead, we are left admiring a footballer who looks well beyond his 16 years. That is why he finished atop the NXGN 2024 list of the world's best teenage footballers, becoming the youngest to ever do so.
Plenty of youngsters burn bright for brief moments, enjoying weeks or months of quality before fading away. Yamal, though, is here to stay; a talismanic attacking presence who is not only Barcelona's best player already, but also the great hope of the Spanish game for years to come.
Instagram/@lamineyamalLa Masia's great hope
Before his breakout year, Yamal had been lurking in the shadows of La Masia for years, and there were signs from a young age that he would be able to succeed where others fall by the wayside.
Yamal joined La Masia at the age of five, and by the time he tured 13, he was among the better players in matches involving the club's Under-16s. "Two years ago, he played with my son in the same team," recalled former Blaugrana striker Patrick Kluivert to GOAL when asked about his first impressions of Yamal. "You already could see that he's got real quality."
Juvenil A coach Oscar Lopez echoed his sentiment, telling in September 2022: "He is always asking questions, he has a very good predisposition to evolve. You have to treat him calmly and not rush."
By the time he was 15, Yamal was already training regularly with the Barca first team having caught Xavi's eye, and once the calendar turned to 2023, it seemed a matter of time before the winger got his chance to impress on the biggest stage.
AdvertisementGettyImpressive debut
Yamal can blame Ousmane Dembele for adding a tinge of disappointment to his Barcelona debut. The then-15-year-old was introduced for the final 10 minutes of the Blaugrana's 4-0 drubbing of Real Betis, and steadily went about picking the opposition defence apart. He fired a shot on goal that was neatly saved, and he should have had an assist, too, after playing a teasing ball behind the Betis defence, only for Dembele to fluff the chance in dramatic fashion.
In the grander scheme of things, that game didn't really matter for Barca, who had already sealed a first league title in three years. Handing Yamal his debut was merely a reward for him appearing in numerous matchday squads through the season despite not ever coming close to making an appearance. For Yamal, though, those few minutes were vital
"I went out to warm-up and when I entered the field, my ears popped, I couldn't hear anything, it was like a minute, but in my legs it seemed like an hour," he said last month.
Once he had settled down, what he did produce was enough to give Xavi food for thought. Although Yamal didn't play again that season – there were seven matchdays left and the Barca coach had depth at his preferred position on the right of the attack – the hype train was beginning to leave the station.
Barcelona TwitterMessi-esque magic
It was not until August 8, 2023, that Yamal would play for the Barca first team again in Catalunya, and when he did step out onto the pitch, he did so at a time when the team were playing miserably.
Hosting Tottenham in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy pre-season game at the Olympic Stadium, Xavi's side had toiled their way through the first half. Ange Postecoglu, early in his Spurs tenure and still adjusting to life without Harry Kane, had his team in full flow by contrast. After an hour, the visitors led 2-1. A more clinical team would have scored four.
After 75 minutes, Xavi released his young ace on the right-wing, and things immediately turned around. Yamal ran a leggy Sergio Reguilon ragged, twisting and turning around him while gliding into space, and finding the kind of minute passing angles needed to unlock a defence that had refused to falter. He assisted the equaliser, feeding Ferran Torres for an easy finish, and then started the moves that led to both the third and the fourth Barca goals. If the final scoreline looked impressive, it was because a fearless 16-year-old made it so.
It all provided a platform for the many unfriendly comparisons that followed. Eagle-eyed Cules noted that 18 years previously, in the same glorified friendly, a certain Lionel Messi turned in an equally scintillating showing to down Juventus.
"Since Leo Messi against Juventus in his first Gamper, nothing like him (Yamal) has been seen," claimed the live blog from in the aftermath's of Yamal's stunning cameo.
Cracking the XI for good
And that could have been it. There was every chance that Barca could have left Yamal on the bench to start the season, and instead used him as an impact player off the bench while protecting his spindly teenage legs. Perhaps they should have. Even now, for all of his brilliance, there remains a real fear around Barca and their recent usage of young talent.
But twists of fate – and the right elbow of Raphinha – forced Yamal into the starting picture. The Brazilian was Xavi's clear first choice for the position, but he earned himself a silly sending-off in the season opener for lashing out at a Getafe defender. When Xavi examined his squad for the following week, he had no choice but to throw Yamal into the fire.
So started the kind of run that caused heads to turn. The teenager was Barca's most apparent threat in a 2-0 win over Cadiz before he turned in a Man-of-the-Match-worthy showing against Villarreal the next week after, as he provided his first Blaugrana assist before cracking a shot off the upright that would surely have been one of the goals of the season.
Xavi heaped praise on his newest talent after the final whistle of that 4-3 comeback win. "He is a very good player. Very unbalancing, very electric, a difficult opponent to cover. He has a great future," the Blaugrana boss said.
Yamal, for his part, played down the hype, saying: "I will take advantage of every opportunity that the manager gives me. I'm not afraid. I try to play football, which is what I do best."
But heads had already turned. Barca academy coach and former defender Rafa Marquez praised him, while other legends chimed in. "Lamine is one of the players of the next 10 years. He can be a very important player in the future," Javier Mascherano told GOAL.