Lamine Yamal is a European Championship winner at 17. Not only is he a winner but he was also Spain’s second most influential player after Rodri in the entire tournament, chipping in with one goal and four assists. This included an assist to Nico Williams to break the deadlock in the finals against England.
Yamal has been a revelation for Barcelona over the last 12 months. His rise has been meteoric and at such a young age, he has established himself as one of the key players for Barcelona to build their new project around.
Previously it was reported that Barcelona are looking to thrust the youngster into absolute stardom and take advantage of his recent performances by giving Yamal the number ’10’ jersey, an iconic jersey worn by club legend Lionel Messi.
After the Argentinian World Cup winner left for PSG, Barcelona youngster Ansu Fati inherited the number but has failed to live up to the lofty standards expected of him in his early days. Injuries have curtailed Ansu’s progress.
Fati is still at the club, returning from an unsuccessful loan spell at Brighton & Hove Albion but is training under Flick and has caught the eye of the German coach and he could be a part of the squad this season.
However, the club has now posted a video on their official social media handles confirming that Lamine has indeed chosen the number ’19’ for next season. The video shows a hand opening out fingers one by one revealing the words ‘Lamine Yamal numero 19!’
Yamal’s decision could be out of respect for Ansu Fati. This is also an indication that the 21-year-old might end up staying at Barcelona for the upcoming season. If he can rediscover his best form, he could end up being a devastating attacking partner to Yamal.
It could be a blessing in disguise for FC Barcelona to not burden Lamine with the iconic number just yet. He is young, just finding his feet, and would do well without the pressure that comes with wearing the number ’10’.
Vitor Roque was previously wearing the number 19 in the second half of last season. It remains to be seen what happened to the 19-year-old’s future at the club following this latest development of Yamal taking over his number.
