The young Barcelona star and the biggest idol of his childhood.
Talking about a younger stage in the life of Lamine Yamal is difficult, as the Barcelona star has just turned 17. His career is already starting to fill up with titles, some for youth achievements and others for championships like the Euro Cup with Spain. Still, Yamal revealed details about his childhood and shared who his childhood idol was, even above Messi.
Ahead of El Clásico, where Barcelona will face Real Madrid, Lamine Yamal spoke with LALIGATV, where he revealed the footballer he idolized years ago, who is still active: Neymar Jr. “My childhood idol was Neymar, he was the one I admired and whose videos I watched all the time,” he admitted.
“Messi, obviously, has always been the best for me,” Yamal immediately clarified. “But it’s true that I loved Neymar’s way of being and playing,” he added. Neymar, who recently returned to playing football after overcoming an injury that kept him off the field for a year, wore the Barcelona jersey 186 times, scored 105 goals, and won 9 titles in four seasons with the club.
Despite the differences, especially in age between Lamine Yamal and Neymar when he arrived at Barcelona, the playing style of the Spanish winger shows some similarities to what the Brazilian displayed in his early years as a professional. Certainly, part of the inspiration comes from having Neymar as an idol.
Lamine Yamal anticipated El Clásico against Real Madrid
As mentioned, this Saturday, Barcelona and Real Madrid will face off in a new edition of El Clásico, the fiercest rivalry in Spanish football. Lamine Yamal, who spent his entire youth career at Barcelona, acknowledged that the match will be special, but so were all the encounters at the youth levels.
“When there was a Barça-Madrid match, it was special for everyone. I think people even watch the matches in the lower categories because, in the end, with a Barça-Madrid, no matter the category, it’s always special,” Lamine explained.
He also admitted that he has rarely felt nervous throughout his career, but if there was a moment when he did, it was against Real Madrid: “Honestly, I’ve never been nervous in a match, but there, when I stepped onto the field and saw the faces of the opponents, I saw they were very good, and it was my turn to come in… I felt a bit nervous when I entered, I noticed it, and then, I forgot about everything.”
