Lamine Yamal is, without a doubt, Barça’s new phenomenon despite being 16 years old. The skilled winger is already shining in the Blaugrana shirt and has made his debut with the Spanish senior team, which would be delighted, judging by the latest call-ups, to have the Catalan for the Euro Cup and the Olympic Games this summer. The one from Mataró, however, has acknowledged in an interview for Mundo Deportivo that “it would not be logical” to play both tournaments due to the physical overexertion that it would entail.
“It wouldn’t be logical to go to both because in the end since I started I have tried not to be burdened and play too much and it wouldn’t make sense to go to both. But obviously if I have to go, in the end you are playing with Spain and it is a dream,” Yamal explained to the sports newspaper, although he does not completely rule out being in Paris.
“It also depends on how the Euro Cup goes, but I think the most important thing would be to be in the Euro Cup. If there wasn’t a lot of pressure in the Euro Cup or Spain fell soon, the scenario would be different,” added Yamal, who has Pedri’s reference very close. , mired in a loop of injuries since in the summer of 2021, at the age of 18, he played with Spain in the continental tournament and was at the Olympic event in Tokyo. “He is an example of what can happen because he is the only one I remember who has done it,” he said of the canary.
With his body still developing, the teenager follows a special physical plan that has led him to gain “about four kilos” of muscle mass this season in addition to growing “two centimeters” to reach 1.81 meters in height. “Before I went with my friends and what I saw I ate. Now what’s in the club. And to drink, water,” he also noted about his change in diet.
Yamal, whose idol is Neymar because “he made him go watch the games” and “it was nice to see him play”, receives advice in the Barça locker room from “everyone” and is confident of eliminating PSG in the Champions League quarterfinals. “I see a 0-1 in Paris with my goal,” he said about the first leg of a tie that according to Yamal will be decided “by details.”
“All the teams now have the same chances. We have to beat PSG and then in a semi-final anything can happen,” he predicted about the role in the top European competition of a Barcelona team where they are “all plugged in thinking about Wednesday’s game.” , which is going to be one of the most important of the season.”
“Sometimes when I’m in bed at night I think about it and say it’s crazy, but it doesn’t give me much time to think because you’re already thinking about the next game, another training session, and everyday life,” explains Yamal, who dreams of being able to “be a Barça legend” like Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol or Messi.
However, he knows that just a year ago, when he made his debut with the Barcelona first team, he was only “a 15-year-old boy who went to class and trained with the youth team.” “Pressure is something that you generate on your own because in the end, when you are enjoying it, pressure will almost never be talked about,” he expressed about how he manages this radical change in life and the responsibility that comes with playing for Barça.
To a large extent, his sporting career has taken a radical leap thanks to the confidence of Xavi, who in principle will leave the club at the end of the season. “I would be delighted if he were still here but at 16 years old I don’t think he can go to his office to ask him,” he concluded about the Terrassa coach.
