Barcelona star Lamine Yamal spoke about his performance at the European Championships and his hopes for the Spanish national team and Barcelona club in an interview with Cope Radio.
He said: “I hope to become a legend at Barca and play there for many years.” The 17-year-old winger revealed he received an unexpected phone call before his European Championship debut: “Before the game against Croatia, I received a call from Flick, he wished me luck and said he was looking forward to starting the new season as Barca coach.”
Speaking about his footballing talent, Yamal said he believes it’s the responsibility of wingers to challenge opponents: “I always try to get past full-backs because I think it’s a psychological battle, if I succeed the first time, I’ll keep going.” He said he’s not worried about his opponents: “I don’t spend much time studying them because I’m more focused on my performance in the game, I react according to the situation. I’ll tell the coach, I’m going to keep trying to get past defenders, let me go one-on-one.”
As the youngest player to appear and provide an assist in European Championship history, Yamal said it’s a help rather than pressure for him: “Being the youngest player to appear is just a statistic, it doesn’t make me scared because my style of play won’t change. It will only help me because every time I perform well, it’s magnified because of my age.”
Speaking about his collaboration with Lewandowski at Barcelona and Morata at the national team, Yamal expressed respect for the top strikers, praising their experience. “I often communicate with Lewa, in Spanish. I get along well with Lewa and Morata, despite them being different strikers.”
Yamal also talked about the differences between Xavi and national team coach De la Fuente: “Their styles are very different, everyone makes different contributions: Xavi emphasizes intensity more, while Luis (De la Fuente) is calmer. Their personalities are reflected in their playing styles.”
In terms of team tactics, Yamal only saw subtle differences: “Xavi asks wingers to drop back more to defend, so I also help defend in the national team, even though I’m not the best defender. Other than that, the national team tactics are very similar to Barcelona’s. With Nico, we’re more direct, but overall very similar.”
Yamal has a good understanding with Nico Williams, who is one of the most likely wingers Barcelona might sign. Yamal revealed: “I often play with Nico Williams and I always win. I’m his ‘older brother’ in all aspects, I control him!”
When asked which player he would sign if he had a club, Yamal chose the Athletic Bilbao striker without hesitation: “I’d sign Nico Williams, he’s the kind of winger who charges at you, dribbles, and is very fast.”
Yamal hopes they can bring home the European Championship trophy as a birthday present, “because my birthday is July 13th and Nico’s is July 12th.”
Yamal talked about his teammates, particularly the age gap: “It’s not that they’re old, it’s just that I’m so young… Pedro or Nico are four years older than me.”
Yamal also praised Morata’s captain role: “I get along well with Morata, he gives me a lot of advice. He also tells interesting stories.” The player who has “surprised” him in football is “Rodri and Grimaldo”, “Grimaldo because of his shooting… in training, he often scores amazing goals.”
Speaking about Carvajal – Yamal provided an assist for Carvajal in the Croatia game, Yamal said: “Maybe because we hugged, it got attention, I don’t know if people think because one’s at Real Madrid and the other at Barcelona, we’d be fighting.”
Yamal believes: “A good relationship within the team is key to winning the European Championship and major titles.”
In his daily life, Yamal “spends about four hours on the internet and short videos”, but not during training camps. He admitted: “If I wasn’t a footballer, I’d be a streamer.”
Finally, Yamal hopes that if he helps Spain win the championship, “they’ll let me into a nightclub, I hope they’ll make an exception for me.”
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