FC Barcelona have been able to turn their form around in the last few weeks, and the role played by youngsters like Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal in this reversal is particularly amazing.
The 17-year-old defender has been taking the spotlight recently, but the 16-year-old winger has been the one who has shone the brightest this season and has already made several records with Barcelona and the Spain national team.
His impact at only 16 years of age has been incredible, which has naturally led to comparisons with one of the best players in the history of football and Barcelona, Lionel Messi. However, as SPORT has reported, the player himself admitted that the Argentine was the only one of his kind and no one could match him:
“I’ll leave that to the press, but there won’t be another football player like Leo Messi.”
The youngster also shared how he has experienced the rapid growth in the last few months: “It’s a dream for me. All of this is very new to me; I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I want to keep playing and enjoying wearing the FC Barcelona shirt.”
“Everything I do turns into a record; it’s hard to remember them all. They say that never before has a sixteen-year-old had such an impact at Barça.”
FC Barcelona are set to face PSG in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and Yamal disclosed his desire to get over this stage while admitting the difficulty of the tie:
“At this moment, all the opponents are tough. We want to play just like we did against Napoli and move on to the next round. It would be a dream to lift the Champions League.”
The winger also gave his opinion on how Barcelona should approach this game: “We must deploy our game, without abandoning our personality, and in this way, we can cause damage. We attack all together. Barça’s defense will be very solid against them.”
Yamal was also not giving up on the defense of the La Liga title just yet: “We are only a few points behind Madrid. We won’t consider the league lost until the last game is over.”
Talking about Xavi, Yamal shared how important he has been for his career at Barcelona: “He was the one who believed in me. He is giving me a lot of consistency and minutes. I am very grateful to Xavi.”
In addition to this outside support from Xavi, the youngster also shared how he approaches the pressure from within: “I try not to think too much about all the pressure surrounding being at Barça, because when you dwell on it too much, that’s when the feeling of pressure sets in. I try to enjoy playing football, which is the most important thing.”
Lastly, Yamal also commented on how the presence of other young players in the first team was helping him: “It’s easier to be in the first team with them, as I’ve been playing alongside them my whole life, and for me, it’s an honor to continue playing with them.”
