Although the club’s first team is not going through its most shiny period of form, the FC Barcelona academy has once again proven itself to be one of the best in the world this season.
Xavi Hernandez has relied on several players from La Masia this term and none of them has disappointed whenever given the chance to shine on the pitch. Youngsters like Cubarsi, Fort, and Guiu have all been impressive, but the clear star to emerge from the academy this season is the winger Lamine Yamal.
With the departure of Dembele and the physical problems of Raphinha, Yamal got his opportunity to get significant playing time with the Barcelona first-team, despite him being only 16 years of age. But his lack of years has not kept him from showcasing his talents at the highest level.
The youngster has not only been holding himself but is also excelling over players significantly older than him. This is particularly true in the aspect of dribbling, as this is one of Yamal’s strongest qualities.
In fact, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Barcelona winger is the most effective dribbler in the top five European leagues, according to data collected and published by Sofascore. This ranking took into account all the players that have attempted at least 50 dribbles.
The data shows that Yamal has the best percentage of successfully completing dribbles, as he completed 70.59% of his attempted runs. Yamal completed 36 of his 51 attempted dribbles in La Liga, and is ahead of his teammate, Joao Cancelo, who stands second with a 69.09% success rate.
The third player in this list is the Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, who has a 68.83% success rate. Other than Yamal and Cancelo, two other La Liga players, Jude Bellingham and Takefusa Kubo, also appear on the list, at the 12th and 14th positions respectively.
